Real Estate
2 Seattle Suburbs Among Top 5 Most Popular Housing Markets: Zillow
In the first few months of the year, two Washington cities emerged as some of the nation's most in-demand places for home buyers.
SEATTLE — A pair of Puget Sound suburbs are some of the biggest housing hotspots in the nation, claiming two places in the top five — including number one — according to the Seattle-based real estate firm Zillow.
Zillow assembled its 2022 rankings by analyzing its website traffic for listings, home value growth and sale inventory in more than 1,000 U.S. cities and found suburbs outpaced urban settings across the nation through the first few months of 2022. In fact, Zillow found all of the top 10 markets were suburbs.
Leading the pack was Woodinville, which Zillow named the nation's most popular market. Edmonds came in at number five, ahead of suburbs around Los Angeles and Atlanta. The firm pointed to growth in remote and flexible work schedules as a key factor influencing soaring demand.
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"The most popular markets so far this year paint a picture of how remote work has changed the U.S. housing landscape," said Nicole Bachaud, a Zillow economist. "Demand for suburban homes found an extra gear last summer, perhaps as buyers gained more clarity in their employers' return-to-office policies. Research suggests the rise of remote work is responsible for roughly half of home price growth during the pandemic."
Zillow's report found suburban home values continue to grow faster every quarter than the main cities in their regions, which is a notable change from previous norms, as more buyers value space over short commutes. The firm said homes for sale in eight of the top 10 suburbs were valued higher than their biggest nearby city.
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In Woodinville, Zillow said home values soared 11.2 percent in just the first three months of 2022, and the typical home value in the Eastside suburb sits at nearly $1.4 million. In a separate report shared earlier this year, Zillow found home values grew so much in 2021 that they "outearned" most people's salaries. Last year, the average home in the Seattle metro gained $131,000 in value.
Read more about this year's most popular markets on Zillow's website.
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