The places that hipsters tend to call home are among some of the hottest housing markets in the country, according to a joint study by realtor.com® and Yelp. Based on the rankings, Columbus, Ohio, earned the No. 1 spot as the hottest hipster market.
Columbus (and more specifically its ZIP code 43202) ranked first out of 50 cities for best markets for hipsters—that is, those who embrace the indie culture and tend to embrace lifestyles of artisanal coffee and avocado toast, according to the study. Seattle (98122); San Diego (92104); Fort Wayne, Ind. (46802); and Rochester, N.Y. (14620), rounded out the top five.
“Although their opinions about their music and fashion may be out of the norm, when it comes to real estate—hipsters have a knack for getting it right,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research for realtor.com®. “Based on our research, there’s clear evidence that ‘hipster’ popularity—in markets like Austin, Texas—has led to mainstream interest and higher home prices over time. Whether it’s the farm-to-table restaurants or urban renewal projects that were already underway, a concentration of hipsters seems to be an indicator of a hot housing market.”
The markets that landed on realtor.com® and Yelp’s “Hottest Hipster Markets in America” list all share strong market dynamics and healthy buyer demand, with homes selling in an average of 30 days. Also, each market boasts low or average unemployment rates from 2.7 percent to 4.6 percent (the national rate is 4.4 percent). These markets also tend to be sought after by millennials, ages 25 to 34. Millennials in the top 10 markets on the list comprised 22 percent of the populations, on average.
To compile the rankings, realtor.com® and Yelp culled their data to find the reviews in ZIP codes that most contained the word “hipster.” Markets were then ranked based on a composite index made up of both Yelp’s differential and realtor.com®’s Market Hotness Index (based on realtor.com® page views and days on the market).
Source: realtor.com®
