More Urbanites Searched for Suburban Homes in Second Quarter

During the second quarter of the year, suburban home searches by city dwellers in the 100 largest metro areas increased to 51%, the highest level since Realtor.com began tracking metro-level search data in 2017. Urban residents don’t seem interested in moving very far though. Suburban searches remained close to whichever city the searcher resided in, such as New Yorkers checking in on listings in Kiryas Joel, New York, a town only 60 miles north of NYC. The suburban search trend is more prevalent in the Northeast region, Realtor.com says, especially in New York.

The level marks an all-time high since realtor.com began tracking metro-level search data in 2017. From 2017 to 2019, the percentage increased slowly from 49.6% to 50.3%, then to 50.5%.

“With remote work more common and accepted, it seems that people are looking to locate further from the office, either to enjoy more space at a better price, or get closer to nature in the mountains or at the beach,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com, said in a statement. “At this point, they are not venturing too far away.”

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