America’s love affair with the Sun Belt seems to be coming to an end.
According to the latest Realtor.com® Hottest Real Estate Markets report, several cities in the South have dropped precipitously in popularity.
To determine a market’s popularity or “hotness,” researchers examine both market demand as measured by unique views per property on Realtor.com, plus the number of days a listing remains active before getting snapped up by buyers.
At the top of the list is Manchester, NH, for the ninth month in a row. Listings here receive 3.2 times more traffic than is typical and tend to sell in a mere 23 days—less than half the usual pace. Although homes here are priced high at a median of $465,000—$40,000 more than national numbers—it’s still affordable compared with surrounding cities like Boston (where the median list price is $840,000).
But other metros haven’t fared as well.
3 Real Estate Markets Plummeting in Popularity
The biggest loser on the list is Savannah, GA, which has slipped 118 spots in the rankings for September since last year. Homes are selling 32% more slowly than a year earlier, lingering on the market for 52 days on average.
Although homes here are listed at a median of $401,900—which is slightly below the nationwide $425,000—sellers here may no doubt be feeling a bit desperate.
And there’s an upside here for buyers: Those looking for a bargain might find some leverage in this once-popular area.
As for the other wallflower cities where listings are lingering, those include Tampa, FL, which dropped 106 spots in the rankings, and Blacksburg, VA, which plummeted by 105 spots. (It’s worth nothing that the majority of the data for the report was collected before Hurricanes Milton and Helene tore through Florida and much of the Southeast. Tampa also appeared on August’s list of biggest declines.)
“Many less-hot markets across the country have seen a significant buildup in housing inventory, which can absorb an uptick in demand without much upward price pressure,” says Realtor.com senior economic data analyst Hannah Jones in her hottest markets report.
Why Demand in the South is Down
The South saw a major influx of buyers during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to kick off a new-construction boom that’s increasing inventory in many Sun Belt cities.
“Though the market has softened recently, I feel like it has been experiencing a healthy minor correction,” says Robert Washington, the owner of Savvy Buyers Realty in Florida. “We saw so much appreciation for a few consecutive years, and I think the market is taking a breather before getting back on track.”
Here’s a closer look at some of the listings in the markets that are losing their desirability, where bargain-minded homebuyers might have an edge.
Article by Julie Gerstein for Realtor.com
