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Flush with cash, city dwellers from New York City have been panic buying condos in the suburbs as homes in these outline areas become too pricey, according to Bloomberg. 

Following the virus pandemic, social unrest, and surge in violent crime, an exodus of New Yorkers have fled to the surrounding rural communities over the last eight or so months. Dwindling supply of suburban homes created the next chapter in the flight out of the city; that is, buying interest for apartments in suburbia has erupted this fall. 

As president of appraiser Miller Samuel Inc., Jonathan Miller said, “they’re (buyers) joined by empty-nesters who sold their suburban spreads and now have the cash in hand to find a smaller place nearby.” 

“Affordability is a challenge, and with record prices being set, condo becomes a competitor again,” Miller told Bloomberg. 

Shown below, condo contracts in Greenwich, a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, a 60-minute drive from NYC, jumped more than 200% in November on a year-over-year basis. Many of those deals were priced from $500,000 to $999,000.

Miller said buyers had been blessed with record-low mortgage rates has propelled the extra push toward condos. 

Condo Listings In Greenwich 

Condo contracts for the month also rose in New York’s Westchester County, by 24%. Contracts on Long Island, excluding the Hamptons and the North Fork, increased by 6.5%. Many of those deals in both locations were priced around half a million dollars. 

“The pattern is contrary to the assumption that single-family homes are all that matter,” Miller said.

To remind readers, our coverage of the great exodus out of cities to rural communities started as early as Mar. 25 (see: here). The trend accelerated through spring and summer and continues through fall. Real estate experts have said the exodus could last upwards of two years.