Housing stock in exurbs and suburbs outgrew that of major markets over the past decade, according to new analysis from StorageCafe.
Inventory in exurbs grew by an average of 15% in the past 10 years, with suburbs trailing closely at 14% housing inventory growth. Housing supply in principal cities, on the other hand, saw an average increase of 10%.
The trajectories of supply growth in the three geographical categories closely mirrors population growth, with exurbs again leading the way at an average of 16% over the previous decade. Compare that to 13% for suburbs and 9% for principal cities. The population shift was further amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic era, when the rise of remote work and an exodus from density pushed even more people toward suburban and exurban living.
Of the 10 markets across the United States with the fastest growing housing inventories during the last 10 years, 10 were exurbs, defined in StorageCafe’s study as areas outlying metros and with fewer than 250 residents per square mile. Because of their population growth, all five have now “graduated” to suburb status based on population density.
At the forefront of that list is Vineyard, Utah, part of the Provo-Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city’s population was 12,663 as of 2022, soaring by a whopping 7,054% over the prior 10-year period, due in large part to the redevelopment of a nearby former steel mill. Its housing stock has similarly surged, growing from just 57 units in 2013 to 4,163 units in 2022, an astounding leap of 7,204%. That includes a wave of multifamily building, with nearly all of the small city’s multifamily stock built in the last decade.
Vineyard’s growth, both in population and housing stock, dwarfs that of the second-fastest growing housing market in the same timeframe: Blackwells Mills in northern New Jersey, where population grew by 2,292% and housing stock jumped by 1,980% from 2013 to 2022. Blackwells Mills was a big beneficiary of the pandemic flight from downtown cores, with many moving in from the nearby New York City megalopolis. Affordability played a large part, considering home prices in the Blackwells Mills unincorporated community growing just 16% over the past 10 years compared to 49% in New York and 52% in nearby Jersey City.
Texas and Florida also bear mention, with 12 of the top 20 fastest-developing areas according to StorageCafe located in the pair. Seven Texas suburbs and five Florida communities make the list, due largely to the affordability, warm climate and low taxes in the two Sun Belt states.
