As home prices and bidding wars vary throughout the U.S., real estate experts suggest that the national housing market no longer reflects local and regional markets, but location matters now more than ever.
“In the [early] pandemic, it didn’t really matter where you were. The housing market was thriving and growing,” says Ali Wolf, chief economist of the building consultancy Zonda. “Since interest rates have risen and inflation is higher and economic uncertainty abounds, we’re reverting back to very localized housing markets. It depends on where you are to know if the market is doing well or the market is slowing.
“There is no national housing market,” she continues. “Every single city and every single street across the country has its own unique housing market.”
There is one big caveat, however. The housing shortage has complicated the market in that buyers are still willing to pay a premium for charming, move-in ready homes in walkable communities with good schools that are near big cities. That is the same whether a home is located in Austin, TX, where prices have fallen, or Miami, where prices are still increasing year over year.
