Redfin Finds Homebuyers Are Moving Farther from City Centers as Home Prices Rise
Austin Homebuyers Moved 1.6 Miles Farther From the City Center in
2015 Than in 2011
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Despite a resurgence in America’s cities and growing interest in
downtown living, a new Redfin analysis finds homebuyers have been moving
farther away from the urban core in most metro areas as home prices have
risen in recent years. Redfin (www.redfin.com),
the next-generation real estate brokerage, found the typical home sold
in 2015 was about 4 percent farther from a city center than in 2011.
In Austin and San Francisco, where home prices have risen drastically,
the typical home sold was 12.3 and 10.2 percent farther from the
respective urban core.
Rising home prices and the scarcity of homes for sale in urban centers
have played a role in driving homebuyers to the suburbs. Across the 30
metros Redfin examined, prices grew almost 50 percent faster in the
urban cores than in the metro areas. In 2015 the median price per square
foot across metro areas was $148, but was nearly double in urban centers
at $284.
“Chronically low inventory, surging rental rates and high home prices
have shifted the demographic makeup of the urban core in many American
cities,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson.
“Cities used to be enclaves of cultural and economic diversity, but
suburbs are increasingly filling this role, as middle-class buyers are
pushed farther out of the urban core in search of homeownership or
affordable rentals. The new housing policy issue for local governments
is how to connect far-flung residents to the economic opportunity
concentrated in the heart of our nation’s cities.”
To read the full report, complete with data, interactive charts and
methodology, click or paste the following link: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/03/homebuyers-are-bucking-the-urban-revival-as-burbs-beckon.html.
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Redfin (www.redfin.com)
is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own
full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in
the customer’s favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the
country’s #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to
consumers, including the industry’s most accurate home-value estimate,
the Redfin
Estimate. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service,
technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while
saving thousands in commission. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro
areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $31 billion in
home sales, and saved customers more than $335 million in fees, and
counting.
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visit www.redfin.com.
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Contacts
Redfin Journalist Services:
Alina Ptaszynski, 206-588-6863
press@redfin.com
