Two Michigan suburbs rank among the country’s hottest zip codes when it comes to the housing market, according to a recent analysis by Realtor.com.
The housing listing service studied 32,000 ZIP codes based on the time it takes homes to sell and how frequently homes are viewed online. Homes in the top 10 hottest ZIP codes sell in an average of 21 days, 50 days on average faster than in the rest of the country.
Hot housing markets, of course, are positives for commercial real estate. When a housing market is booming, it boosts the likelihood of success of the retail, office and healthcare sectors. Commercial brokers, then, should be thrilled when the communities in which they work benefit from quick housing sales.
So which ZIP codes are the hottest, according to Realtor.com? ZIP code 76148, belonging to Watauga, Texas, topped the list, for the second year in a row. But two communities in Michigan came in at numbers 2 and 3.
Second on the list is ZIP code 48154 in Livonia, Michigan. This western suburb of Detroit benefits from its close location to the city while offering the amenities of a busy suburb. More than 86 percent of Millennials living in this ZIP code own their own homes, while homes in Livonia sell in an average of 21 days. That’s 25 percent faster than homes here sold last year. The median list price of homes in Livonia stood at $223,780, up 12.3 percent from last year.
Third was the 49548 ZIP code in Kentwood, Michigan. This community is part of the Grand Rapids area, and has become one of the fastest growing parts of the country. Millennials hold 42 percent of new mortgages in the ZIP code and have a 62 percent homeownership rate. Homes in Kentwood sell in 16 days, 49 percent more quickly than they sold last year. Homes have a median list price of $118,833, up 22.4 percent over a year earlier.
All this is good news for commercial brokers working these two Detroit markets. It also bodes well for the future of the commercial real estate markets in both Livonia and Kentwood.