Redfin data show exurban home demand rising across Midwest and Florida markets

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Exurban home demand rises Midwest Florida

Highlights

Redfin data show exurban neighborhoods within an hour of major cities, like Land O' Lakes, Florida, saw median listing views surge 90.9% year-over-year.
Midwest markets captured six of Redfin’s top 10 list for demand growth, reflecting local buyer retention and reduced migration to the Sun Belt.
Florida remains influential despite fewer ranked neighborhoods, as affordability pressures and hybrid work drive buyers toward lower-cost outer-ring areas.

Redfin ranking highlights exurban demand

As reported by Business Insider, the ranking is based on ZIP codes in the 100 most populous metro areas, measured by year-over-year growth in listing views and the company's Redfin Compete Score, which tracks how difficult it is to win a home bid. The result points to rising interest in neighborhoods that are generally within an hour of a major city but offer lower home prices than nearby urban cores.

Redfin senior economist Asad Khan says the market is shifting from the immediate post-pandemic push into nature toward exurbs that balance space, affordability and access to city amenities. He says buyers still want proximity to major metros, but are looking beyond close-in suburbs for better value.

The top-ranked neighborhood is Land O' Lakes, Florida, where the median sale price is $425,000 and median views per listing are up 90.9% from a year earlier. Plant City, Florida, ranks second, followed by Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Oceanside, New York, West Bend, Wisconsin, Lincoln Park, Michigan, Lee's Summit, Missouri, Little Neck in Queens, New York, Howell, Michigan, and Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

Midwest markets gain share of buyer interest

Khan says the Midwest outperforms this year, taking six of the 10 places on the list as more households remain in the region instead of relocating to the Sun Belt. That shift appears to keep demand local in Midwestern markets that may previously have lost buyers to states such as Florida.

Even with fewer Florida entries than in prior years, the state still places two neighborhoods near the top of the ranking. The broader pattern suggests affordability pressures and commuting flexibility continue to reshape housing demand toward lower-cost outer-ring communities rather than the largest city centers themselves.

Our earlier article on the revised 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act explained how lawmakers updated a bipartisan housing affordability package to expand supply while tightening rules around large investors in single-family homes. We noted that the compromise aims to remove key development and regulatory barriers, but it still faces uncertainty in the Senate as policymakers debate how best to protect homeownership access and curb investor-driven pressure on prices.

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