The Fastest & Slowest Growing Zip Codes in the United States

New data from Estated reveals multiple coastal markets in Florida are some of the fastest home price appreciating markets of 2022.

If there's an industry that has experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows as a result of the pandemic, it's the residential real estate market in the United States.

From a dramatic 18% plunge in home sales in March of 2020 to an unexpected near 20% growth in home prices YoY in late 2021 and early 2022, the housing market has endured, and dare we say thrived, under the devastating impacts of COVID-19.

Fuelled by record low inventory levels, rock bottom mortgage rates, and a complete societal shift towards flexible, hybrid, and in a lot of cases, fully remote work models, the pandemic housing boom, up until recently, has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon.

However, as we've experienced with recent mortgage rates, things can rise just as quickly as they fall. Lately, the future of the housing market is as uncertain as it ever has been.

For the fourth consecutive month in 2022, new home sales have declined in response to climbing mortgage rates and skyrocketing price appreciation. According to the U.S. Department of Housing, new single family home sales in March dropped by over 16% MoM—the largest monthly drop in 9 years.

However, it's not all doom and gloom when it comes to the residential real estate market. In fact, for those savvy real estate investors or remote workers looking to take advantage of 'The Great Resignation', the current market presents lucrative opportunities on both sides of the spectrum.

On one hand, you may want to try to capitalize on fast appreciating real estate in current markets on the rise, while on the other hand you could  try to take advantage of discounted properties in slower growth areas based on their future growth potential. 

No matter how you slice the numbers, homeownership is still one of the most risk-manageable wealth building strategies available today.

New property data from Estated reveals that 16 of the top 20 fastest growing zip codes are in coastal markets in Florida while historically impoverished areas in larger cities including Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit represent some of the bottom 20 slowest appreciating or depreciating zip codes across the country.

Analyzing the largest increases and decreases in median price per square foot YoY, these are the 20 fastest and slowest appreciating zip codes in the United States through March 31, 2022:

Why we use median values for home appreciation analysis?

Average home values can be influenced by especially low or especially high priced sales. Medians represent a value such that half of observed prices are lower than or equal to the median, and the other half are greater than or equal to the median. By using medians instead of simple averages to represent typical home values, a more accurate and useful estimate of what a home buyer can expect is given.

Taking a deeper dive into the data, it's not all that surprising to see coastal markets in Florida and California dominating the rankings.

As more employers embrace remote work and champion flexibility in where employees can choose to live and work, the more we'll see homes  grow in value in sunbelt suburban areas outside of larger cities as people flock toward the sun and the sand.

This data also reflects similar migration patterns of Americans since the onset of the pandemic. According to new Census data, from July 2020 to July 2021, some of the U.S.'s largest cities experienced substantial population loss as a result of the mass outflow from large metros to smaller sunbelt cities.

In fact, it would appear that some of the fastest appreciating and depreciating zip codes on our list match almost perfectly to the counties that experienced the largest increases and decreases in population as evidenced by the graphic above.

As it has been throughout the entirety of the pandemic, the residential real estate market remains unpredictable at best. While we're not exactly sure what the future holds for housing in the United States, we do know we'll be keeping a close watch on our property data to uncover any upcoming trends and insights in the marketplace.

What can I do with property data?

We hope you enjoyed reading about the fastest and slowest growing zip codes in the United States so far in 2022.

If you are interested in unlocking more key insights on the residential real estate market, we provide the most accurate and comprehensive data on over 150 million residential properties nationwide across the U.S.

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