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Real eState
The 10 best cities in the US to buy a home in 2023 are all in the South
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Even with rising homeownership costs squeezing out buyers, some real estate markets will remain hot in 2023, mostly due to their relative affordability compared with the rest of the U.S., a new forecast finds.
The top places have something else in common, too: They’re all located in the South.
Based on a variety of factors, including home affordability, job growth, migration gains and housing supply, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) analyzed 179 markets to determine which will offer the most value to buyers. The data looks back one year from October 2022 and reflects expected demand from buyers in 2023.
The median price of homes in some of these markets isn’t cheaper than the national median of $398,500. However, these cities scored high on other metrics such as job growth or housing supply.
Here are the 10 best places to buy a home in 2023, according to NAR:
1. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia
Median home price: $371,200
With major tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Visa opening Atlanta offices in recent years, the city has a robust job market.
The Atlanta metro area remains relatively affordable compared with other regions in the country. Over 20% of renters can afford to buy a median-priced home in the area, based on a calculation that includes a 10% down payment. The national average is 15.1%.
2. Raleigh, North Carolina
Median home price: $460,500
A fast-growing tech hub with low unemployment, Raleigh has seen home prices increase by almost 30% since 2020. With a median home price near $500,000, it is the most expensive of the top 10 markets for 2023.
However, “local home listing prices are coming down from this summer’s peak, home inventory has increased 188% in the last 12 months and unemployment in Raleigh is lower than it was pre-pandemic,” said Jay Nelson, communications director at the Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors, in a recent interview with The News & Observer.
3. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
Median home price: $390,100
Dallas-Fort Worth is another emerging tech hub in the U.S., with job growth nearly twice as high as the national average, which was 3.4% for the year looking back from October 2022.
While the supply of homes is less than the national average, inventory increased in 2022, with the number of active listings tripling the national average, according to NAR’s data.
4. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Arkansas-Missouri
Median home price: $328,400
Home to three Fortune 500 companies — Walmart, Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt Transport Services — this metro area is second among NAR’s top 10 rankings in terms of housing affordability.
It’s a growing market, too, with annual population growth of 2% — well above the national average of 0.01%.
Homes are also cheap, with prices second only to Huntsville, Alabama, among this list. The share of renters that can afford the typical home is nearly double the national average.
5. Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, South Carolina
Median home price: $335,400
While housing affordability is on par with the national average, job growth in this area is strong, especially for high-paying information technology jobs like computer programming or web development.
There are more houses to choose from, too, as the supply of homes in 2022 was more than twice the national average.
6. Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina
Median home price: $416,800
Of the top 10 rankings, the Charleston area is second only to Raleigh for the highest median price for homes. It’s also below the national average when it comes to affordability.
However, this fast-growing market has strong migration gains and job growth that is nearly twice the national average.
7. Huntsville, Alabama
Median home price: $327,500
Alabama’s most populous city is the most affordable area for homes amongst this list. Just under 30% of renters can afford a typical home with a 10% down payment, which is almost twice the national average.
Growing job opportunities and low cost of living will continue to attract even more movers in 2023, according to NAR.
8. Jacksonville, Florida
Median home price: $398,000
As with many cities in Florida, Jacksonville became a migration hotspot during the pandemic, with home prices soaring by almost 58% since the beginning of 2020.
Jacksonville’s house prices are nearly on par with the median price in the U.S., but it’s more affordable than other areas statewide, according to NAR.
The qualifying income to purchase a median-priced home with a 10% down payment is about $98,000. That’s less than most large metro areas across the state, including Miami, where the qualifying income with a 10% down payment is $140,000.
Jacksonville also has a strong job market and a good supply of homes compared with the rest of the country.
9. San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas
Median home price: $342,700
San Antonio became a migration hotspot during the pandemic, especially from California, where home prices and the cost of living tend to be more expensive.
The city has become a destination within the state of Texas, too. Many potential homebuyers have migrated to San Antonio from nearby Austin, largely due to cheaper home prices.
In San Antonio, residents earning $85,000 qualify for a median priced home, including a 10% down payment, much less than $130,000 required in Austin. Job growth is also stronger than the national average.
10. Knoxville, Tennessee
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CNN
—
If you came across a four bedroom, 3.5 bathroom home listed for sale recently on a quiet cul-de-sac in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, you might not think twice about the online listing. It included typical real estate descriptions like “ideal for entertaining” and “ample space for relaxation.”
But JJ Johannes, the realtor for the home, created the description in less than five seconds by typing a few keywords into ChatGPT, a viral new AI chatbot tool that can generate elaborate responses to user prompts. It’s a task, he said, that would otherwise have taken him an hour or more to write on his own.
“It saved me so much time,” Johannes told CNN, noting he made a few tweaks and edits to ChatGPT’s work before publishing it. “It’s not perfect but it was a great starting point. My background is in technology and writing something eloquent takes time. This made it so much easier.”
Johannes is among the real estate agents experimenting with ChatGPT since it was released publicly in late November. Some residential and commercial agents told CNN it has already changed the way they work, from writing listings and social media posts to drafting legal documents. It could also be used to automate repetitive tasks such as answering frequently asked questions and doing complex calculations.
ChatGPT is trained on vast amounts of online data in order to generate responses to user prompts. It has written original essays, stories, song lyrics and research paper abstracts that fooled some scientists. Some CEOs have used it to write emails or do accounting work. It even passed an exam at an Ivy League school. (It has, however, raised concerns among some for its potential to enable cheating and for its inaccuracies.)
In less than two months, ChatGPT has sparked discussions around its potential to disrupt various industries, from publishing to law. But it’s already having a tangible impact on how a number of real estate agents around the country do their jobs – where much of the written work can be formulaic and time consuming – to the extent that some can no longer imagine working without it.
“I’ve been using it for more than a month, and I can’t remember the last time something has wowed me this much,” said Andres Asion, a broker from the Miami Real Estate Group.
‘As soon as I tried it out, I was sold”
Recently, a client reached out to Asion with a problem: the woman had moved into a pre-construction home and couldn’t open her windows. She had attempted to contact the developer for months with no response. Asion ran a copy of one of her emails through ChatGPT, asking it to rewrite it with an emphasis on the liability implications.
“ChatGPT wrote it as a legal issue and all of a sudden, the developer showed up at her house,” he said.
Asion has also used the tool to draft legally binding addendums and other documents, and sent them to lawyers for approval. “I fine-tune all kinds of drafts with ChatGPT,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll tell it to make it shorter or funnier, and it gives you so many samples to pick and edit from.”
ChatGPT is free for now, but OpenAI, the company behind it, is reportedly considering a monthly charge of $42. Asion said “it’s not even a question” he would pay for access. “I would easily pay $100 or $200 a year for something like this,” he said. “I’d be crazy not to.”
Frank Trelles, a commercial real estate agent at State Street Realty in Miami, said he’d also pay to keep using the tool, which has already impacted the way he does business. “As soon as I tried it out, I was sold,” he said. “I went to sign up for a package, thinking it would be at least $100 a month, and was blown away that it was free. Nothing in this world is free though – and that made me a bit nervous.”
Trelles said he uses ChatGPT to look up the permitted uses for certain land and zones in Miami-Dade County, and calculate what mortgage payments or return on investment might be for a client, which typically involve formulas and mortgage calculators.
“I can be in a car with a client when they ask me what their mortgage payments might be,” said Trelles. “I can ask ChatGPT what a mortgage payment would be on a $14 million purchase at a 7.2% interest rate amortized over 25 years with two origination points at closing, and in two seconds, it gives me that information. It also explains how it got the answer. It’s amazing.”
Lots of potential, and some limitations
There are some limitations, however. The tool has, for example, struggled with some basic math before. Trelles said it’s helpful for approximations on the go, not for exact numbers.
Serge Reda, a commercial real estate executive and adjunct professor at the Fordham Real Estate Institute, said some use cases for ChatGPT are better than others. ChatGPT may help save brokers time when writing listings or responses, but automating client responses may not be the best tactic because generating leads and closing transactions typically requires a personalized approach.
“It’s accessible to everyone right now because it’s free and they can get a taste of how this powerful tool can work. But there are definitely significant limitations,” he said.
While ChatGPT has generated a wave of interest among realtors, incorporating artificial intelligence in the real estate market isn’t entirely new. Listing site Zillow, for example, has used AI for 3D mapping, creating automatic floor plans and for its Zestimate tool, which can scan pictures to see if a home has hardwood floors or stainless steel appliances so its price estimation better reflects market conditions. Earlier this week, Zillow rolled out an AI-feature that lets potential buyers conduct searches in a more natural language (something that’s long been mastered by Google).
Matt Kreamer, a spokesperson for Zillow, said the real estate industry has been slower to innovate, but “I think we’ll be seeing much bigger strides very soon.” He said Zillow sees no clear concerns with agents using ChatGPT to help streamline the work they already do and save time.
“We aren’t promoting or wary of ChatGPT but are interested in how it’s being used and watching it,” he said.
Although it’s too early to say if the tool will become a mainstay in real estate, realtor Johannes believes AI in general will transform his industry and others.
“It may not be with ChatGPT,” he said, “but I believe some form of artificial intelligence like this will become a big part of how we work and live our lives.”
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This article was created by Wise Publishing. Wise is devoted to providing information that helps readers navigate the complex landscape of personal finance. Wise only partners with brands it trusts and believes may be helpful to the reader. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
CNN
—
If you came across a four bedroom, 3.5 bathroom home listed for sale recently on a quiet cul-de-sac in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, you might not think twice about the online listing. It included typical real estate descriptions like “ideal for entertaining” and “ample space for relaxation.”
But JJ Johannes, the realtor for the home, created the description in less than five seconds by typing a few keywords into ChatGPT, a viral new AI chatbot tool that can generate elaborate responses to user prompts. It’s a task, he said, that would otherwise have taken him an hour or more to write on his own.
“It saved me so much time,” Johannes told CNN, noting he made a few tweaks and edits to ChatGPT’s work before publishing it. “It’s not perfect but it was a great starting point. My background is in technology and writing something eloquent takes time. This made it so much easier.”
Johannes is among the real estate agents experimenting with ChatGPT since it was released publicly in late November. Some residential and commercial agents told CNN it has already changed the way they work, from writing listings and social media posts to drafting legal documents. It could also be used to automate repetitive tasks such as answering frequently asked questions and doing complex calculations.
ChatGPT is trained on vast amounts of online data in order to generate responses to user prompts. It has written original essays, stories, song lyrics and research paper abstracts that fooled some scientists. Some CEOs have used it to write emails or do accounting work. It even passed an exam at an Ivy League school. (It has, however, raised concerns among some for its potential to enable cheating and for its inaccuracies.)
In less than two months, ChatGPT has sparked discussions around its potential to disrupt various industries, from publishing to law. But it’s already having a tangible impact on how a number of real estate agents around the country do their jobs – where much of the written work can be formulaic and time consuming – to the extent that some can no longer imagine working without it.
“I’ve been using it for more than a month, and I can’t remember the last time something has wowed me this much,” said Andres Asion, a broker from the Miami Real Estate Group.
‘As soon as I tried it out, I was sold”
Recently, a client reached out to Asion with a problem: the woman had moved into a pre-construction home and couldn’t open her windows. She had attempted to contact the developer for months with no response. Asion ran a copy of one of her emails through ChatGPT, asking it to rewrite it with an emphasis on the liability implications.
“ChatGPT wrote it as a legal issue and all of a sudden, the developer showed up at her house,” he said.
Asion has also used the tool to draft legally binding addendums and other documents, and sent them to lawyers for approval. “I fine-tune all kinds of drafts with ChatGPT,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll tell it to make it shorter or funnier, and it gives you so many samples to pick and edit from.”
ChatGPT is free for now, but OpenAI, the company behind it, is reportedly considering a monthly charge of $42. Asion said “it’s not even a question” he would pay for access. “I would easily pay $100 or $200 a year for something like this,” he said. “I’d be crazy not to.”
Frank Trelles, a commercial real estate agent at State Street Realty in Miami, said he’d also pay to keep using the tool, which has already impacted the way he does business. “As soon as I tried it out, I was sold,” he said. “I went to sign up for a package, thinking it would be at least $100 a month, and was blown away that it was free. Nothing in this world is free though – and that made me a bit nervous.”
Trelles said he uses ChatGPT to look up the permitted uses for certain land and zones in Miami-Dade County, and calculate what mortgage payments or return on investment might be for a client, which typically involve formulas and mortgage calculators.
“I can be in a car with a client when they ask me what their mortgage payments might be,” said Trelles. “I can ask ChatGPT what a mortgage payment would be on a $14 million purchase at a 7.2% interest rate advertised over 25 years with two origination points at closing, and in two seconds, it gives me that information. It also explains how it got the answer. It’s amazing.”
Lots of potential, and some limitations
There are some limitations, however. The tool has, for example, struggled with some basic math before. Trelles said it’s helpful for approximations on the go, not for exact numbers.
Serge Reda, a commercial real estate executive and adjunct professor at the Fordham Real Estate Institute, said some use cases for ChatGPT are better than others. ChatGPT may help save brokers time when writing listings or responses, but automating client responses may not be the best tactic because generating leads and closing transactions typically requires a personalized approach.
“It’s accessible to everyone right now because it’s free and they can get a taste of how this powerful tool can work. But there are definitely significant limitations,” he said.
While ChatGPT has generated a wave of interest among realtors, incorporating artificial intelligence in the real estate market isn’t entirely new. Listing site Zillow, for example, has used AI for 3D mapping, creating automatic floor plans and for its Zestimate tool, which can scan pictures to see if a home has hardwood floors or stainless steel appliances so its price estimation better reflects market conditions. Earlier this week, Zillow rolled out an AI-feature that lets potential buyers conduct searches in a more natural language (something that’s long been mastered by Google).
Matt Kreamer, a spokesperson for Zillow, said the real estate industry has been slower to innovate, but “I think we’ll be seeing much bigger strides very soon.” He said Zillow sees no clear concerns with agents using ChatGPT to help streamline the work they already do and save time.
“We aren’t promoting or weary of ChatGPT but are interested in how it’s being used and watching it,” he said.
Although it’s too early to say if the tool will become a mainstay in real estate, realtor Johannes believes AI in general will transform his industry and others.
“It may not be with ChatGPT,” he said, “but I believe some form of artificial intelligence like this will become a big part of how we work and live our lives.”
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