There’s no doubt that 2020 has seen an enormous shift in housing markets across North America. I just read an interesting article from NPR which used the term “Zoom Town”. Zoom Towns are cities that were just once loved for their outdoor appeal and small town charm. They always made nice vacation destinations, but weren’t viewed as full time residency options due to the lack of job markets. That has all changed as many people realize the potential to work remotely, freeing them from city centers.

Here’s an excerpt from NPR’s article, “Zoom Town and the New Housing Market for the 2 Americas”

“….the housing boom is fed by low interest rates, millennials reaching home-buying age and a demand for more space. Many Americans — especially 30-somethings who remain employed — are ditching their tiny rental apartments in hip districts of expensive cities and moving to buy houses in more affordable cities or the burbs for a life of shopping at Home Depot and spending their Friday nights eating mozzarella sticks at Applebee’s.

“If you look at basically any metropolitan area, you see the most price competition on the outskirts of that area and the least in the city center,” Fairweather says. Spacious, single-family homes are particularly in demand. We’re not witnessing the death of cities — in fact, most cities are seeing a boom in home prices too — but with remote work freeing many people from daily commutes, people are increasingly deciding that it’s OK to live farther away from what used to be the office. You can see it in Redfin’s data, which show more searches and higher price increases in suburban and rural housing markets.

The boom gets slightly less rosy, though, when you consider why national home prices are surging. It’s in large part because there’s not a lot of new construction and because existing homeowners don’t want to sell. “There’s a tremendous shortage of homes on the market,” says Jeff Tucker, an economist at Zillow. “We see about 29% fewer homes that are actively listed compared to this time last year.”

Part of the imbalance between home buying and selling, Tucker says, may be that sellers tend to be older — and with a pandemic still raging, many may not be eager to move and risk their health. Meanwhile, a large number of them are taking advantage of COVID-19 mortgage forbearance policies, which free them to not pay their mortgage during the crisis. “Still over 7% of active mortgages are in forbearance,” Tucker says.

So that’s the market for buying and selling homes. The sort of happy story, considering it’s 2020 and everything is horrible. Where it gets more depressing is when you look at the other America. The one that rents.

Do you think Puerto Vallarta qualifies as a “Zoom Town”? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below! -Christina

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