The 2020 watch list was developed by identifying the neighborhoods with the greatest year-over-year growth in listing pageviews on Redfin.com and speaking with agents about what areas are seeing rising interest from homebuyers. Some of the neighborhoods included may not meet the conventional definition of “hot,” but are still trending among homebuyers.
Relatively affordable neighborhoods dominate this year’s list. Seven of the top 10 neighborhoods to watch in 2020 have median sale prices of less than $500,000; three fall below the 2019 national median of $279,900, making them “affordable” compared to other parts of the country. Half of the neighborhoods also have median sale prices that are less than their respective metro areas. “The affordability crisis has caused people seeking single-family homes to search in areas they may not have considered before,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Homebuyers continue to be priced out of Washington, D.C. and New York, so you’re seeing a lot of northerners moving to the southeast, but even people from as far away as California are migrating there. The overall U.S. economy is doing better, so people feel more comfortable leaving the biggest job centers for small job centers. Plus, the southeast is becoming more metropolitan, with new restaurants and amenities that cater to younger people.” Corporations are also setting up shop in the southeast. In Atlanta, money manager BlackRock is building a new innovation hub, with plans to employ 1,000 people there by 2024. Microsoft is spending $23 million to expand its campus in Charlotte and a new Volvo plant is adding thousands of jobs in Charleston. The two Carolinas cities are expected to lead the nation in home-price gains this year, according to Fairweather. Charleston saw a 104% annual net increase in the number of Redfin users looking to move in during the third quarter of 2019, and Charlotte saw a 44% boost. Below is Redfin’s complete list of hottest neighborhoods to watch this year, followed by the three hottest neighborhoods to watch in 60 of the nation’s major metro areas. All statistics on median sale price, percent of homes that sold above list price, and median days on market represent the full year of 2019.
Median sale price: $499,995 Median sale price for metro area: $410,000 Percent of homes that sold above list price: 20.5% Median days on market: 46 “Old Town Rocklin was not very populated in the past and used to have a lot of vacant strip malls. Now it’s the hub for the Rocklin community, with plenty of activities for families, family-owned restaurants and hip breweries,” said Redfin Sacramento agent Michelle Dane. “They built a massive adventure park called Quarry Park, with ropes courses and an amphitheater for concerts in the summer. The neighborhood hosts car shows, local food trucks and festivals. They’re also starting to do newer construction, and the houses tend to be a little less expensive. Old Town Rocklin rehabilitated a lot of older properties, and they typically don’t have all of those additional HOA and tax costs. Plus, it’s walkable and super convenient to the freeway.”
Every city on the list had fewer than two violent crimes per 1,000 people, and 26% saw fewer than one.
California’s violent crime rate is slightly higher (4.51) than the national rate of 4.49.
At 26.08, the state beats the national property crime rate of 27.11.
92% of cities had lower property crime rates than both state and national averages.
Despite lower property crime rates, Californians ranked property crime as their biggest safety concern on our State of Safety survey, with 64% ranking it number one—that’s five points above the national average.
21% of respondents cited personal experience with property crime in the past year, and 16% reported experiencing a violent crime.
