We all know location matters when buying a home. Everything from prices to the amount of competition you face will be different from one zip code to the next. Proof of this can be found in a study of the country’s most affluent areas. The analysis looked at the 100 most exclusive zip codes across the country and found the market for high-end homes is still running hot, even as the housing market overall seems to be cooling. For example, in 23 of the most expensive markets, more than half of properties sold were sold above asking price, with at least one zip code seeing 96 percent of homes go above asking. High-end homes are also selling quickly. In eight of the 100 markets, homes sold in less than a week despite median prices in those areas reaching $4.4 million. Additionally, half of the country’s most affluent areas saw homes sell faster than they did last year at the same time. The reason for the increased competition? Inventory. The market for high-end homes has heated up due to the lack of available properties for sale. (source)
