The past year has been stressful for all of us. After a year of uncertainty and market-changing challenges, economic experts have been able to locate specific trends affecting the housing market. The overarching theme for homebuyers is simple – there are no homes. With a plethora of factors playing into an urban exodus, suburbs and more rural settings are left unable to meet the demand in their smaller markets. The housing shortage across the country has provided a valuable opportunity for housing investors to build new homes and have them filled with urgency. Let’s take a look at the markets in which new home inventory is most needed:

  1. Jacksonville, Florida – Jacksonville was already experiencing a population upswing before the COVID pandemic set in, but the desire for people to escape to smaller cities to avoid high population densities has sharply increased over the past 12 months. Compared to the 2019-20 annual term, the new listing count in the Jacksonville area is down a whopping 43.7% according to a survey conducted by Realtor.com. Fueled by one of the hottest markets in the country, the year over year average cost of a home for sale has risen 10% as well.
  2. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Competing closely with Jacksonville, the Oklahoma City market has also become a poster child for medium-sized cities in the United States. The new listing count has fallen 42.6% over the last fiscal year. Despite a previously slower market, the availability of well-sized properties in the Oklahoma City metro area has become a major draw to homebuyers, draining the housing inventory rapidly this year.
  3. Austin, Texas – Texas metro areas have become hotspots for homebuyers over the past several years due to low property prices and the availability of land for developers. The small scale of Austin has helped push housing stock even lower throughout 2020, which is reflected in the lack of active listings in the area. The amount of active real estate listings has fallen 72.7% alongside a rise in median list price by 39.8% over the past year.
  4. Raleigh, North Carolina – Similar in appeal to Austin, Raleigh is a traditionally smaller city. Overshadowed in the state by it’s capital city, Charlotte, Raleigh is a gem of an eastern city given the remaining availability of properties for development. With a high housing demand this past year, properties aren’t staying on the market long – most listings are off the market in 39 days. The active listings in the Raleigh area have fallen 70.3%, leaving demand high for new housing.
  5. Buffalo, New York – Rust Belt cities have been a prime target for real estate developers for several years, but the desirability of such cities has been exacerbated by low housing costs since 2019. Buffalo has seen the most housing market success, seeing the average time of a house on the market fall by an unmatched 30 days. While property availability seemed to sustain the buying market last year, the sudden choke on available homes will leave prime opportunities for developers in the coming year.

Property developers will have their work cut out for them in the coming years, as most smaller cities will continue to see increased demand for new housing. No matter where your next development opportunity arises, consider the experts at EMCAP Lending your primary private-funding resource. For more information about how we can help fund your project goals, contact us today!

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