Secondary Markets Thrived in Final Quarter of 2020

Buyers diverted their attention away from the largest metros last year and focused on suburban and second-home metros, making the final quarter of 2020 the most prosperous for the two markets. A recent luxury market report from Realtor.com found the majority of the 95 tracked metros experienced price growth in the fourth quarter and luxury homes were sold an average of 15 days faster than in 2019. California and Colorado’s secondary and suburban markets saw exceptionally high growth, which supports the idea of urban dwellers fleeing for more areas with more space.

“After slowing last spring, luxury home sales and prices outside urban city centers mostly rebounded last quarter, although not quite to their pre-pandemic levels,” Danielle Hale, realtor.com’s chief economist, said in the report.

“Suburbs and secondary markets in Colorado and California saw especially strong growth, which follows the widespread trend of buyers choosing the suburbs over urban life during the pandemic, while big city markets like the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Boston and Hawaii saw the largest luxury home price declines,” she added.

As the markets strengthen, buyers are now having to part with more money to be considered luxury homeowners. The entry point to qualify as a luxury listing or make the top 5% of homes on the market, reached $3.4 million in the fourth quarter, up 14% from 2019.

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