With buyers seeking greener pastures and more affordable markets, Redfin found [1] that Spokane, Washington; Las Vegas; Charlotte; and Orlando, Florida, are attracting out-of-town buyers and developing land for new-home construction.
Spokane, Washington
New-home sales rose 37% in the city from Q4 2018 to Q4 2019, compared to just 5% growth in existing homes.
Redfin said Spokane is currently the most competitive housing market in the nation. The city is attracting a good amount of interest from out-of-town buyers, as 73% of Redfin searches within Spokane originate from outside the metro.
“Tons of people are moving in from the coasts because Spokane is more affordable and less crowded,” said Redfin market manager Michelle Kendrick. “Spokane has all of the basics you would want in a city, but at a great price. It feels like we are in a construction boom. A lot of the new construction is happening on the outskirts of the city, which contributes to our version of traffic. To people from out of town the traffic is nothing, but if you have lived here a long time you do notice it. Job growth has also been a draw for out-of-towners. We have a new Amazon distribution center, the airport is expanding, and the medical industry is big and growing.”
Las Vegas
Las Vegas reported home sales are growing at a pace of 15.7%, with 47% of homebuyers' interest coming from outside of Sin City. Los Angeles is the leading source of buyers seeking homes within Las Vegas.
The median home price is $650,000 and land compromises about 61% of home values. Existing homes can be sold for $285,000 or a new home for $388,000—land makes up roughly 25% of home values in Las Vegas.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Home sales in Charlotte are growing by 14.5%, with 40% of searches coming from outside the city. Household income within the city is growing 5% annually and jobs grew 2.9% last year—above the national rate of 1.45%.
Additionally, land compromises just 28% of home values on average in the metro.
Orlando, Florida
Redfin says the jobs, median-household income, home sales, and home prices have all been growing in Orlando. Land, however, accounts for just 29% of home values.
The sales of new homes increased by 21% in the city from Q4 2018 to Q4 2019, compared to 5% growth for existing homes.
On the other end of the spectrum, the National Association of Homebuilders [2](NAHB) reported that Los Angeles leap-frogged San Francisco as the nation’s least affordable housing market during Q4 2019.
The NAHB revealed that just 11.3% of homes sold during the quarter were affordable to those earning the city’s median income ofg $73,100.
Overall, 63.2% of new and existing homes sold between October and December 2019 were affordable to those earning the median U.S. income of $75,500. This is unchanged from the 63.6% of affordable homes sold during Q3 2019.