When it comes to understanding where the U.S. real estate market is headed in 2024, many experts are saying that the only certainty is uncertainty. After steady growth, some major markets (like California and New York) are showing signs of slowing down, while others are ramping up.
But there are still some clues to where the market may be going, and for investors, real estate professionals, and ordinary homeowners who want to understand the dynamics of the contemporary real estate market is important, here are four trends that are worth watching:
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1. Rising Cost of Living on the Coasts
From Boston to Santa Barbara, it is getting more expensive to live in America’s large coastal cities. After years of steady growth driven by a healthy economy and the extraordinary success of regions like Silicon Valley, housing costs have risen dramatically.
While this is driving a fairly robust business in luxury condos, high-end housing stock is extremely vulnerable to fluctuations in the market, which could cause problems in the event of another recession.
2. The Growth of Suburbs and “Second Cities”
As established cities like Nashville and Austin become magnets for migration, smaller cities in their orbit, like Murfreesboro and Round Rock, become attractive investment options — especially for Millennials. Many of the fastest growing cities in the country are smaller municipalities that are proximal to large, thriving metropolitan areas with robust economies and a growing job market.
3. The New South
Seen as moribund and backward for over a century, internal and international migration has injected new life into old bastions of the south like Atlanta, Raleigh, Nashville, and Dallas-Fort Worth. Construction is booming, and revitalized downtowns are making these cities a desirable destination for young buyers.
For this reason, if you live in a state like Texas and want to get involved in the real estate industry as a Realtor, 2024 is a good year to get started with RealEstateU and their comprehensive Texas real estate course that will help you learn everything you need to know to pass the licensing exam.
4. Climate Change
While dynamic southern cities like Atlanta and Nashville are booming, other parts of the southern U.S. are facing a much more uncertain future. Florida’s hundreds of miles of coastal real estate are extremely vulnerable to extreme weather and rising sea levels brought on by climate change.
While the market for Florida condos hasn’t slowed down yet, there are signs that the climate reality is about to catch up, and when it does, investors and ordinary owners alike are in for a rude shock. In the coming decade, insurance costs on properties that are threatened by climate change are likely to skyrocket, and when they do it will have far-reaching impacts for the American real estate market.
The real estate market has long been one of the most reliable indicators of economic health, and changes in the housing market are likely to have a ripple effect across the rest of the economy.
If you want to position yourself to benefit from market upheavals, therefore, keeping tabs on major shifts in the world of real estate like the rising costs along the coasts, the movement to second cities and the south, and the threat posed by climate change will be essential going