By Conor Dougherty | The Wall Street Journal
Urban real estate prices increased faster than suburban prices between March of this year and last, according to Trulia. But suburbs continue to outpace cities in population growth, and for good reason — there’s a lot more suburbs than cities, and since it’s easier to build in suburbs, the ‘burbs can add new homes more quickly, holding prices back.
Nationally, urban home prices increased 9.8% over the past year. Suburban home prices grew 9.4%. The order is flipped for household growth, however: Suburban population increased by 1.1% and the urban population by 0.9%.
Trulia defines urban and suburban differently than your typical demographer. Rather than focus on political boundaries — say, the City of San Francisco compared with smaller cities around it — they define urban and suburban by form.
