As employers have begun calling employees back into the office, the once popular remote suburbs and smaller cities—coined as ‘Zoom towns’—have become less appealing as long commutes are now a possibility.
And now the future of those previously hot real estate markets in the most remote suburbs, also known as exurbs, and secondary cities has become uncertain.
“These ‘Zoom towns’ are the places at most risk of prices actually falling year over year,” says Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist of the Bright MLS, the multiple listing service covering the mid-Atlantic region.
“During the pandemic, they were attracting higher-income buyers who were able to bid prices up,” she continues. “Now, those markets are really resetting to reflect local incomes, which are lower. … Demand has pulled back pretty dramatically.”
