Homebuyers Are Flocking To These 2 Southeast Cities, Egypt Sherrod Says
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Gabrielle Olya
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Levi Leidy
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Migration trends shift constantly — and few know this better than Egypt Sherrod, an Atlanta-based real estate pro and former HGTV host. She’s seen firsthand which Southeast cities are gaining traction with buyers and which ones are losing steam.
Here’s a look at the Southeast cities homebuyers are flocking to — and the ones they are leaving.
Southeast Cities Gaining Buyer Interest
Sherrod — who recently partnered with TurboTax Business, which provides small-business owners and “solopreneurs” access to unlimited live experts — has seen an uptick in homebuyer interest in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia.
“Charlotte is growing, Savannah is growing,” she said. “People are leaving the more urban parts of Georgia and moving out to the country or moving out to the ocean. So we’re seeing that happen in Savannah.”
Once-Popular Cities Buyers Are Leaving
Several Texas hotspots have recently declined in popularity
“Two years ago, everyone was moving to Houston and everyone was moving to Austin, Texas,” Sherrod said. “Now we’re seeing the population influx dying off, and folks are moving out of some parts of Texas; they’re starting to migrate a little bit up toward the northern Midwest again.”
Atlanta is another major city that has seen a slowdown.
“A lot of folks are still moving into Atlanta, but we are so crowded here, so now some of those who live in the city want to move back out to the suburbs,” Sherrod said.
Florida’s Housing Market Shift: From Boom to Surplus
Many major cities throughout Florida have also seen a decline in interest from buyers.
“For about five years, Florida has been ‘it,'” Sherrod said.
However, its surge in popularity meant that it quickly became unaffordable.
“The prices have been so elevated that it’s priced many original Florida residents out, and some of the seniors who would go there to retire because there was a better cost of living have stopped moving to Florida,” Sherrod said.
As a result, over the last nine months, Florida has had the highest amount of inventory on the market compared to the rest of the U.S.
“I think all of the attention on Florida worked against it,” Sherrod said. “I hope folks start staying or moving back, but there are a lot of homes just sitting on the market now.”
Why Buyers Are Prioritizing Value Over Location
As a general trend, buyers are moving out of major cities and into the suburbs, where they can get more bang for their buck.
“When we look at a lot of the cities around the country, they’ve gotten so overpopulated and overpriced that it’s forcing people’s hand to say, ‘I need a little bit more value for my money,'” Sherrod said. “So we are seeing a spillover of people saying, ‘I give up. I’m moving back to the suburbs.'”
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