By Dobrina Zhekova | Travel + Leisure
Life in the suburbs has never seemed more appealing. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of remote work, more and more Americans are choosing to leave the big city and move to smaller communities with larger homes, better schools, and a laid-back lifestyle. This, coupled with lower mortgage rates, has led to unprecedented demand for single-family homes in specific neighborhoods across the country, which, in turn, has driven home values to record highs.
“Coupland and Bear Creek, Texas, two small communities in the Austin metro area, have seen home values grow the fastest over the past year. Following closely behind are Hungry Horse and Whitefish, Montana, both of which are in the Kalispell area,” said Nicole Bachaud, an economist with Zillow.
But when it comes to the priciest suburb, the undisputed winner is the beachfront enclave of Montecito, California, where the median sale price this March was more than $5 million. For comparison, the median home value in California was $758,360, which was also the country’s second-highest, according to data from Zillow. The state with the highest median home value was Hawaii, with $842,487, while the District of Columbia ranked third, with $703,116.
