Popular second- and vacation-home destinations across the U.S., including Lake Tahoe, the Jersey Shore and Cape Cod in Massachusetts, have been promoted to full-time hotspots amid the coronavirus pandemic and the increased adoption of remote working, according to a report Wednesday from Redfin.
California’s El Dorado County, which spans from the eastern outskirts of Sacramento to the southern half of Lake Tahoe, is the market that heated up most in the year to September, a ranking based on year-over-year home price changes, number of sales, the share of homes that sold above their list price, the speed of home sales and Redfin.com searches.
Deschutes County, home to Bend, Oregon, and an area with access to millions of acres of national forest and popular among outdoor enthusiasts, ranked second, according to the report.
"We've always described Bend as a second-home town, but now we're seeing it transition into a place where more people are living full time because they're no longer required to go into the office,” Angelica Webb, a local Redfin real estate agent, said in the report.
“We joke that it's becoming a `Zoom town,'" Ms. Webb said, referring to the video-conferencing platform. "A lot of folks are moving to Bend without having ever stepped foot here. They've heard good things and want to get out of their cramped San Francisco or Seattle apartments, so they're coming here and buying awesome, 3,000-square-foot colonial homes."
Ocean County, on New Jersey’s Jersey Shore, ranked third.
The Shore, a favorite getaway for east coasters, has three counties that are ranked in the top-10 most fired-up markets, with Monmouth County and Cape May County joining Ocean County.
"I've never seen so many New York license plates at open houses in Monmouth County," Redfin agent Anthony Gonzalez, said in the report. "City folks are coming to New Jersey with New York salaries, and they can get quite a deal here even though competition is fierce. One of my buyers recently lost out on a house because another bidder paid $75,000 over the asking price. Who does that? New Yorkers."
Indeed, New Yorkers are ditching the state in droves, according to the data.
Almost 47,000 more Redfin.com users looked to leave New York state than move into it during the third quarter, roughly 35% more the same time last year, the report said.
Meanwhile, New York City boroughs account for the three U.S. housing markets that are cooling down the most.
Queens ranked first, followed by Brooklyn and the Bronx. The city saw a greater net outflow of Redfin.com users than any other metro area during the third quarter.