Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Many parts of the country have seen unseasonably cold temperatures since the start of the year, and for some people this has proved to be too much. According to real estate website Trulia, the further the temperature drops the more likely people are to think about searching out warm weather locations such as Phoenix and Miami.
Trulia looked at data related to online searches that originated from metro areas where the average daily temperature in January was below a chilly 41 degree Fahrenheit between the beginning of December last year, and January 21st of this year. These areas were in the Mountain States, the Midwest, the Northeast and even some of the metro areas in the South, and were identified using data from the National Climactic Data Center. The results were very telling, as for every ten degree drop in temperatures the number of searches for homes in warmer climes increased by 4.4%. Nationwide the number of searches for property in warmer areas increases by 2.6% for every ten degree decline in temperatures in colder areas.
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The metro areas that saw the largest increases in searches are in the South and the West, and Miami is top of the list with an increase of 7.3%. Phoenix isn’t far behind with an increase of 6.9%, while Jacksonville in Florida sees an increase of 6.4%. The trend is even more visible in vacation areas. These are areas where at least 25% of the homes are second homes. The article in the Wall Street Journal points out that vacation areas tend to have more second homes, as when the temperatures begin to drop people will not only look for places where they might want to live, but also for property in areas where they would like to vacation.
Experts say this fits a trend of people choosing to move to warmer areas as housing stock and population levels have increased over the past one hundred years. Technological advances have made it easier for people to move, and this has encouraged economic growth in these warmer areas.
Not surprisingly realtors in colder areas do notice a decline in searches when the temperature begins to fall, and there is always the possibility that those choosing to buy a second home or vacation will decide to make the move permanent, and to escape those freezing winters altogether. Let’s just hope spring is early this year.
