Archives January 2021

Weekly Housing Trends View — Data Week January 16, 2021

Our research team releases regular monthly housing trends reports. These reports break down inventory metrics like the number of active listings and the pace of the market. In light of the developing COVID-19 situation affecting the industry, we want to give readers more timely weekly updates. 

Generally, you can look forward to a Weekly Housing Trends View near the end of each week along with weekly coverage of our Housing Market Recovery Index and a weekly video update from our economists. Here’s what the housing market looked like over the last few weeks.

After an extraordinarily strong finish to 2020, the housing market lost some momentum in early 2021. However, we continue to see home buyers in the market and their activity level relative to sellers means that the market continues to favor sellers with a shrinking number of homes for sale, rising prices, and fast selling homes. As was the case even before the pandemic, supply is what’s needed to ensure that home sales continue to grow.

Weekly Housing Trends Key Findings

Key Findings:

  • Median listing prices grew at 15.0 percent over last year, notching 23 consecutive weeks of double-digit price growth. In 2020, lower mortgage rates have blunted the otherwise dampening effect that higher prices could have on buyer demand. Just last week, however, mortgage rates ticked up a notable 14 basis points, perhaps signaling a new course for the year. If mortgage rates maintain this new course, as we expect, affordability is likely to become a bigger challenge and thus a bigger concern in 2021.
  • New listings continue to fall behind the year ago pace–registering 22 percent lower this week. After the positive momentum we saw in new listings at the end of 2020, new listings have made an abrupt about-face to start 2021. The new listings trend is noisier than active inventory since it’s a smaller set of data, and especially so in the slower winter season, but with three consecutive weeks of decline, it’s clear that the supply of home sellers has started the year on a weaker note. Earlier in the pandemic, new listing trends were weakest in markets with higher prevalence of COVID-19, and the post-holiday surge in COVID-19 is likely one reason for the recent trend.  Looking forward, the surge in new cases is abating, and we’ve seen declines in new listings shrink over the last 3 weeks.  We expect new housing supply to continue to improve, if unevenly, as we move through the year.
  • Total active inventory continues to decline, dropping 43 percent. A greater decline in overall inventory than in new listings suggest that buyers remain more active in the housing market than sellers.  
  • Time on market was 9 days faster than last year. Although the gap is shrinking, homes are still selling faster than they did in January 2020. In other words, buyers have the advantage of lower mortgage rates this year, but they’ll need to make a quick decision when they find a home they like. 

Data Summary

First 2 Weeks March 2020Week ending Jan 2Week ending Jan 9Week ending Jan 16
Median Listing Prices+4.5% YOY+12.4% YOY+15.4% YOY+15.0% YOY
New Listings +5% YOY-35% YOY-26% YOY-22% YOY
Total Listings -16% YOY-41% YOY-41% YOY-43% YOY
Time on Market4 days faster YOY11 days faster YOY10 days faster YOY9 days faster YOY

You can download weekly housing market data from our data page.

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Challenges for commercial real estate investors in 2021

At the time of writing this article, the United States is amid discord on several levels. Many are optimistic with a challenging year behind us, and experts say the second half of 2021 looks to be favorable for commercial real estate.

Multi-family and warehouse properties performed well while the retail, restaurant, and hotel industries suffered significantly. What should commercial real estate investors expect for 2021? Will multi-family residential slide, more restaurants close, and warehouses continue their growth cycle?

  • Multi-family apartments should continue strong growth depending on the location. Many renters are leaving the cities for the suburbs, so a decline in rents will continue in the major cities. Demand will continue to grow in the tertiary markets. The question yet to be answered concerns the renters behind in their rent. What are landlords whose loans are in default or coming due in 2021 to do?
  • Office buildings will most likely experience a permanent 15 percent reduction in occupancy. Many companies are embracing the remote work setup for some employees. With only 85 percent of the workforce returning to the office, this could change the outlook for office investments and affect the restaurant, hotel, airline, transportation, and retail industries.
  • Many shoppers can see retail changes even before 2020. Still, as many of us embraced online shopping, the “brick and mortar” store has come into question. We should continue to see a shake-up in this industry. Investors holding retail buildings are questioning what to do with an empty building and a loan coming due?
  • The warehouse industry is the success story winning with the growth of the online retail surge. Growth is to continue as e-commerce becomes entrenched in our lives. Industrial property investors need to follow the population growth to find where industrial development will continue to rise.
  • Hotel industry experts say $31 billion in outstanding loans will be coming due this year. In contrast, many hotels have not yet come back to life. Experts agree most hotels, depending on location, will bring in only 40 to 75 percent of their expected occupancy. Many fear we could see many shut their doors.
  • Unfortunately, the restaurant industry was hit the hardest in 2020 and continues to suffer in 2021. It does not seem to be getting any better until the second half of 2021. The estimate of 110,000 restaurants nationwide permanently closed. Most of these being independent restaurants. A negative ripple effect in the industries that support restaurants continues with the most significant impact on the employee.

It is painful to see all the workers hurt this past year and equally so the business owners. Commercial real estate investors will need to get creative with their properties to shave expenses to keep afloat. Still, many will not be able to, especially when their outstanding loans come due.

Warehouse properties will continue to thrive, and multi-family should remain stable. Industry analysts predict a 25 percent reduction in retail space by 2025, with the hospitality industry rebounding around the same time. The intuitive investor should be able to find opportunities, unfortunately, at the cost of others’ losses.

Top Housing Markets for 2021

Realtor.com’s top 10 housing markets for 2021 have substantial momentum from 2020 which they will carry into 2021. Still low mortgage rates throughout most of the year help these markets see price and sales growth on top of 2020’s high levels. Economic momentum from the thriving tech industry, coupled with healthier levels of supply, will position these markets for growth in 2021. This past year, we’ve all become more reliant on technology to work, learn, and maintain personal connections. The technology hubs that make this possible are thriving, as are their housing markets. Additionally, the relative stability of government jobs in the past year has driven home prices and sales in several state capitals to the top. Home buyers, particularly younger first-time buyers, looking in one of these markets should expect rising prices and heavy competition. Meanwhile, sellers will remain in a position of power, but will find themselves on the other side of the bargaining table when buying their next home.

Top 10 Housing Markets Positioned for Growth in 2021
Rank*Metro2021 Sales Growth % y/y2021 Price Growth % y/yCombined Growth
1Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, Calif.17.2%7.4%24.6%
2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.10.8%10.8%21.6%
3Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.13.8%5.2%19.0%
4Boise City, Idaho9.8%9.1%18.9%
5Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.8.9%9.7%18.6%
6Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.11.4%7.0%18.4%
7Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.14.4%3.8%18.2%
8Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.12.5%5.5%18.0%
9Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.12.5%5.4%17.9%
10Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.12.4%5.5%17.9%
United States7.0%5.7%12.7%

Ranking is based on the combined yearly percentage growth in both home sales and prices expected in 2021 among the top 100 largest markets in the country per realtor.com’s metro level housing forecast. In cases of a tie, Sales Growth y/y was used as a tiebreaker.

Tech Titans 

A common driver of this year’s top markets is the prevalence of high paying tech jobs. Tech salaries in Sacramento, San Jose, Boise, Denver, and Seattle have driven home prices through the roof over the last several years and this trend is expected to continue in 2021. Additionally, areas such as Charlotte and Phoenix are quickly establishing themselves as rising tech hubs with a plethora of jobs in technology, as well as education, government and healthcare. In fact, the projected unemployment rate for 2021’s top markets is 7.9% compared to the national average of 8.2%. Tech-related jobs make up an average of 8.7% of the workforce in this year’s top markets list compared to 6.4% of the U.S. as a whole. 

Relative Affordability

The top markets in 2021 aren’t cheap. In fact, home prices in eight of the top 10 markets are more expensive than the average of the top 100 markets. But many are relatively affordable when compared to their nearby counterparts or offer significantly more square footage for a similar price. For example, buyers priced out of New York ($216 per sq.ft.) can find increased space and affordability in Harrisburg ($122 per sq.ft.), while buyers in Sacramento ($284 per sq.ft.) can get more bang for their buck than nearby San Francisco ($679 per sq.ft.). This is also true when comparing Oxnard ($413 per sq.ft.) and Riverside ($247 per sq.ft.) with Los Angeles ($556 per sq.ft.).  

Home to Younger Households 

On average, the top 10 markets have a larger share of younger households, aged 25 to 34, (14.1%) than the U.S. as a whole (13.5%). A market’s ability to lure millennials is a good indicator of the livability of the area including: job opportunities, dining, and entertainment. However, when it comes to millennials purchasing homes in the top 10, two trends are emerging. In half of this year’s top markets, including: Charlotte, Boise, Phoenix, Harrisburg and Riverside, millennials are already homeowners and expected to make the majority of the home purchases that drive home price growth and sales. In the other group of markets, such as San Jose, Seattle, and Denver, the high cost of living has made homeownership a difficult accomplishment, not only for millennials but for all generations. The high number of millennials in the market shows how popular these markets have become, but older, more financially established generations will be the ones purchasing the majority of the homes next year. 

State Capitals 

Half of the top markets are state capitals, including: Sacramento, Boise, Phoenix, Harrisburg and Denver. The strong government presence in these areas offers stability for their local economy and jobs markets. This is especially important after a year when a global pandemic has significantly disrupted local economies across the nation. On top of the government jobs, these areas also have strong job diversity in both the public and private sectors, including education, healthcare, technology, manufacturing and military, which is positioning them for solid growth in the future. The average GDP growth rate for the top markets is forecasted to be 5.34% in 2021, versus 4.85% for the top 100 metros. 

Key Stats for Top 10 Housing Markets in 2021 
Top 10 Markets (Avg)Largest 100 Markets (Avg)
Sales % Change YoY 2021 (projected)+13.1%+6.8%
Price % Change YoY 2021 (projected)+6.9%+4.7%
Median List Price 2020$586,200$371,500
Median List Price YoY 2019+7.6%+4.3%
Households YoY 2021 (projected)+0.98%+0.53%

2021 Top 10 Housing Markets 

1. Sacramento, CA

Median home price: $554,050
Home price change: +7.4 percent
Sales change: +17.2 percent
Combined sales and price growth: +24.6 percent

Sacramento takes first place on this year’s top markets list. Due to the increased freedom to work remotely, buyers from the San Francisco Bay Area are flocking to California’s state capital for the increased affordability, without having to completely uproot their lives in Northern California. The area draws a diverse crowd ranging from first time homebuyers to empty nesters looking to downsize. Many young families are also drawn to Sacramento for the area’s strong school system, including West Campus high school which has a 99% graduation rate and received a 10/10 on greatschools.org. When residents want a change of scenery, it’s a short trip to Lake Tahoe, wine country or San Francisco. 

2. San Jose, CA

Median home price: $1,199,050
Home price change: +10.8 percent
Sales change: +10.8 percent
Combined sales and price growth: +21.6 percent

Also located in Northern California, San Jose is the largest city in Silicon Valley. Apple, Google, Facebook, Linkedin and even realtor.com® are all within commuting distance of San Jose. Unsurprisingly, the area’s strong economy and top notch school system, including Lynbrook High School (10/10 greatschools.org), lure top tech talent from all over the country. Those looking for a change of scenery can easily drive to San Francisco or the nearby mountains. Without a ton of room for new construction, inventory in the area is tight, so serious buyers should expect to pay above asking price.  

3. Charlotte, NC

Median home price: $368,819
Home price change: +5.2 percent
Sales change: +13.8 percent
Combined sales and price growth: +19.0 percent

Rounding out the top three on this year’s top markets list is Charlotte. The area’s high quality of life, great weather, strong school system including Providence High (10/10 greatschools.org) and rich history draw a diverse mix of both young and old buyers. Millennials are beginning to transition from the downtown city center toward the suburbs as they raise families and take advantage of the increased affordability and extra space. With access to both the beach and mountains, Charlotte has something for everyone, including kayaking along the Catawba River and hiking the Carolina Thread Trail. Housing supply has been tight, but new construction is booming as builders try to meet current demand. Charlotte was No. 7 on 2018’s top markets list. 

4. Boise, ID

Median home price: $445,000
Home price change: +9.1 percent
Sales change: +9.8 percent
Combined sales and price growth: +18.9 percent

Idaho’s capital city is firmly establishing itself as a rising tech hub in the U.S. The area’s high quality of life and strong economy draw people from all over the country, with the biggest influx coming from Washington, Oregon and California. This trend has accelerated as the ability to work remotely has drawn many young workers looking for a slower pace of life, increased affordability, and access to the area’s many outdoor amenities. Boise offers residents a mild four season climate, a vibrant revitalized downtown with plenty of entertainment, as well as a plethora of restaurants and boutique shopping. Outdoor enthusiasts are drawn to the area’s adrenaline pumping outdoor activities such as white water rafting and four different ski resorts. New construction has been booming in Boise over the past few years as builders scramble to keep up with rising demand. Boise is no stranger to realtor.com®‘s Top Markets list, it was No. 1 in 2020 and No. 8 in 2019. 

5. Seattle, WA

Median home price: $629,050
Home price change: +9.7 percent
Sales change: +8.9 percent
Combined sales and price growth: +18.6 percent

Coming in fifth is Seattle, which is home to some of America’s largest and most well known companies including: Amazon, Starbucks, Costco, Microsoft and Nordstrom. The area’s booming tech scene, high quality of life, and access to both the water and mountains draws a crowd from all over the country. New and growing families will find a strong school system, including Greenwood Elementary School which scored a perfect 10/10 on greatschools.org, as well as four other schools which received scores of 9/10. Driven by high home prices and the desire for more space, buyers are beginning to search for homes further from the downtown center. This is especially true for first time homebuyers. 

6. Phoenix, AZ

Median home price: $412,260
Home price change: +7.0 percent
Sales change: +11.4 percent
Combined sales and price growth: +18.4 percent

Arizona’s state capital has become a magnet for both younger buyers looking to take advantage of the affordable cost of living, as well as retirees who want to soak up the sun. Recently, the area has seen a large influx of people from pricey West Coast markets — San Francisco, Seattle and Portland. While builders have struggled to meet the rising demand for housing, Phoenix set a record for new home permits in March, April and May, so new inventory is on the way. Phoenix offers residents all the big city amenities of shopping, dining and entertainment, without the traffic of larger metropolitan cities. Additionally, those who want to get out and hit the golf course have over 400 courses to choose from. Phoenix is a business friendly city and has a diverse list of large employers in both the public and private sectors from education, government and healthcare to technology, manufacturing and military. Phoenix was No. 5 on 2019’s top markets list. 

7. Harrisburg, PA

Median home price: $262,000
Home price change: +3.8 percent
Sales change: +14.4 percent
Combined sales and price growth: +18.2 percent

The state capital of Pennsylvania has become a hot spot for buyers looking for the quiet suburban lifestyle, more space, and increased affordability. Harrisburg is centrally located near New York, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Millennials in particular have been drawn to the area as both first time homebuyers and move-up buyers looking for more space for their growing families. Harrisburg boasts a strong job market not only for government employees working at the state capital, but those in healthcare and shipping industries as well. One of the biggest draws to the area is the ability to go from downtown, to the suburbs, to more rural areas, in under 15 minutes.  

8. Oxnard, CA

Median home price: $824,000
Home price change: +5.5 percent
Sales change: +12.5 percent
Combined sales and price growth: +18.0 percent

Located north of Los Angeles on the Pacific Coast is Oxnard, Calif. The area is a mix of farmland and Pacific Coast beaches, such as Hollywood Beach — a second home market for wealthy Angelanos looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of city life. Farmers in the area grow strawberries and lima beans and the annual Strawberry Festival is a big draw for Southern California locals. Thanks to its affordability, the area has seen a boost in demand from buyers seeking relief from Los Angeles and Orange County home prices. Beach homes in the area are significantly more affordable than those in Malibu or Santa Monica, making this a popular alternative for buyers hoping to get more bang for their buck. 

9. Denver, CO

Median home price: $520,000
Home price change: +5.4 percent
Sales change: +12.5 percent
Combined sales and price growth: +17.9 percent

Colorado’s state capitol is located just outside of the Rocky Mountains. The area’s housing market has been red-hot for the last several years and builders have struggled to keep up with the high demand for housing. Though the city is rapidly expanding, it still holds much of its Old West charm, and its cost of living remains relatively affordable compared to other Western markets. Many of Denver’s residents are outdoor enthusiasts who love to take advantage of the area’s easy access to mountains, rivers and lakes. No matter the season, there is an outdoor activity closeby. Denver’s high quality of life is a major draw for many residents, as well as all the amenities of downtown. With boutique shopping, dining, and endless entertainment, the area has been supremely popular with millennials. Due to the area’s spike in demand, home prices have grown rapidly, causing many first time home buyers to search further out from the downtown center. 

10. Riverside, CA

Median home price: $475,050
Home price change: +5.5 percent
Sales change: +12.2 percent
Combined sales and price growth: +17.9 percent

Located in the Inland Empire, Riverside, Calif., is named for its location along the Santa Ana River. Riverside draws many people who want to take advantage of Southern California’s temperate weather, but don’t want to pay Los Angeles or Orange County home prices. Riverside is centrally located, just 30 minutes to the beach, mountains or desert, making it a great location for anyone that loves to be outdoors. Additionally, it’s in close proximity to Southern California’s attractions of Disneyland in Anaheim, skiing in the San Bernardino Mountains, wine tasting in Temecula or the endless entertainment in Los Angeles. Due to Southern California’s high cost of living, Riverside’s relative affordability and strong school system including Riverside Stem Academy(9/10 greatschools.org), have made it a popular destination for first time homebuyers, growing families, and retirees.   


2021 Top Housing Markets Ranked

Rank*Metro2021 Sales Growth % y/y2021 Price Growth % y/yCombined Growth
1Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, Calif.17.2%7.4%24.6%
2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.10.8%10.8%21.6%
3Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.13.8%5.2%19.0%
4Boise City, Idaho9.8%9.1%18.9%
5Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.8.9%9.7%18.6%
6Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.11.4%7.0%18.4%
7Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.14.4%3.8%18.2%
8Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.12.5%5.5%18.0%
9Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.12.5%5.4%17.9%
10Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.12.4%5.5%17.9%
11Columbus, Ohio10.3%7.6%17.9%
12Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.9.7%7.8%17.5%
13Fresno, Calif.8.9%8.5%17.4%
14Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.10.0%7.3%17.3%
15Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.12.0%5.2%17.2%
16El Paso, Texas10.6%6.4%17.0%
17North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.10.3%6.6%16.9%
18San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.11.3%5.5%16.8%
19Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.11.6%4.7%16.3%
20Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.8.7%7.5%16.2%
21Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.10.1%5.8%15.9%
22Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas11.3%4.4%15.7%
23Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.12.1%3.5%15.6%
24Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.12.1%3.4%15.5%
25Jacksonville, Fla.9.4%5.0%14.4%
26Stockton-Lodi, Calif.8.2%6.1%14.3%
27Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash.8.1%6.2%14.3%
28Bakersfield, Calif.10.5%3.7%14.2%
29Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.9.1%4.8%13.9%
30Charleston-North Charleston, S.C.9.5%4.3%13.8%
31McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas10.0%3.6%13.6%
32Knoxville, Tenn.7.9%5.7%13.6%
33Rochester, N.Y.8.4%5.1%13.5%
34Columbia, S.C.8.1%5.4%13.5%
35Pittsburgh, Pa.9.2%4.1%13.3%
36Salt Lake City, Utah7.5%5.7%13.2%
37Austin-Round Rock, Texas8.4%4.6%13.0%
38Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich9.1%3.6%12.7%
39Springfield, Mass.8.1%4.2%12.3%
40Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.6.3%6.0%12.3%
41Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Va.-Md.-W. Va.5.2%6.7%11.9%
42Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.8.3%3.5%11.8%
43New Haven-Milford, Conn.8.6%3.1%11.7%
44Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla.5.4%6.3%11.7%
45Colorado Springs, Colo.5.4%6.2%11.6%
46Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.7.0%4.5%11.5%
47San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas7.2%4.3%11.5%
48Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind.7.0%4.2%11.2%
49Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.5.4%5.7%11.1%
50Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.4.8%6.2%11.0%
51Greensboro-High Point, N.C.6.8%4.1%10.9%
52Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.7.1%3.7%10.8%
53Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.3.7%7.1%10.8%
54Richmond, Va.6.2%4.5%10.7%
55Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.6.1%4.5%10.6%
56Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y.6.3%4.0%10.3%
57Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.5.1%4.9%10.0%
58Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass.4.5%5.5%10.0%
59Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C.8.1%1.8%9.9%
60Raleigh, N.C.6.0%3.9%9.9%
61Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas5.3%4.6%9.9%
62Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.3.6%6.2%9.8%
63Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa6.9%2.8%9.7%
64San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.1.3%8.4%9.7%
65Akron, Ohio5.3%4.2%9.5%
66New Orleans-Metairie, La.5.3%4.2%9.5%
67Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio6.7%2.7%9.4%
68Spokane-Spokane Valley, Wash.3.8%5.6%9.4%
69Baton Rouge, La.6.5%2.6%9.1%
70Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.4.8%4.3%9.1%
71Oklahoma City, Okla.5.8%3.0%8.8%
72Syracuse, N.Y.4.2%4.6%8.8%
73Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.4.9%3.8%8.7%
74Chattanooga, Tenn.-Ga.4.9%3.5%8.4%
75Portland-South Portland, Maine2.0%6.4%8.4%
76Augusta-Richmond County, Ga.-S.C.5.1%3.2%8.3%
77Worcester, Mass.-Conn.3.5%4.5%8.0%
78Tucson, Ariz.3.4%4.5%7.9%
79Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, Tenn.3.1%4.8%7.9%
80Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton, Pa.6.7%1.1%7.8%
81Albuquerque, N.M.4.5%3.2%7.7%
82Toledo, Ohio3.9%3.3%7.2%
83St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.3.4%3.8%7.2%
84Jackson, Miss.5.3%1.9%7.2%
85Madison, Wis.5.1%2.1%7.2%
86Winston-Salem, N.C.2.6%4.4%7.0%
87Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.3.7%3.2%6.9%
88Urban Honolulu, Hawaii5.2%1.6%6.8%
89Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.4.1%2.3%6.4%
90Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa1.4%4.9%6.3%
91Wichita, Kan.2.4%3.4%5.8%
92Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.1.5%4.3%5.8%
93Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, S.C.4.3%1.3%5.6%
94Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.0.5%4.8%5.3%
95Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J.0.3%4.9%5.2%
96Tulsa, Okla.2.7%2.0%4.7%
97Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark.1.9%1.5%3.4%
98Dayton, Ohio0.7%1.7%2.4%
99Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich-2.8%4.9%2.1%
100New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.-3.8%0.5%-3.3%

*Ranked by Combined Growth. In cases of a tie, Sales Growth y/y was used as a tiebreaker.


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How to Find Commercial Property Owner Contact Information

What is it that comes to mind when you think about the process and work that goes into finding property owner contact information?

My best guess is that it’s not very positive.

While you might enjoy talking to assistants, receptionists, and clerks, your team’s time is best spent talking and marketing directly to decision-makers.

That begs two questions: 

  • What’s the best way to find commercial property owner contact information?
  • Is there a scalable source that provides that information online?

Reonomy’s database of commercial property owners allows CRE professionals to digitally analyze and understand owning structures, the people behind LLCs, and the contact information of individuals—in any market, from any market.

How to Find Property Owner Contact Information

When using the Reonomy you can either search for specific, known properties and find owner contact information, or you can discover new properties and opportunities from scratch, then find the owners just as easily.

More sophisticated teams may take the backend approach.

If you’re looking to improve and scale your prospecting efforts, however, here’s a step-by-step, case-by-case look at how to do all of that within the Reonomy platform.

Find the Property’s Reported Owner

To find the reported owner of a known property by address, you can simply enter the exact address of the desired property into the search bar at the top of the Reonomy platform.

Reonomy Property Owner Contact Information by Address

For example, say you enter, “2552 2nd Ave, San Diego, CA 92103.” As you’re typing, the address you are looking for will appear in the dropdown.

Reonomy San Diego Owner Search by Address

Once you click the address in the dropdown, you’ll be taken to the profile page of that property, where different research cards are broken out for different pieces of information on the asset.

That includes tabs for Building & LotOwnershipTenantsSalesDebtTaxNotes, and Files.

Reonomy Property Owner Search by Address

In each of these sections is a bevy of information describing the physical layout and size of the property, its use, transactional history, ownership, and so on.

As you might imagine, the reported name (and contact information) of the owner can be found underneath the Ownership tab.

Reonomy Reported Owner by Address

In that tab, you’ll see the reported owner (LLC, individual, or any other entity) and whether or not that owner is in the same state as the asset.

Owner names and contact information remain locked until you choose to click the “Unlock TrueOwner” button and use an unlock credit (more on that below).

To prospect brand new opportunities and discover owners from scratch, you can run a property search in Reonomy based on an array of different physical and transactional qualifications.

For example, maybe you don’t know the exact address of a property, or simply want to run a general search to find targeted property owners in California.

Whatever the case may be, you can search multi family and commercial assets in any U.S. market based on the following (and more):

  • Asset Location – State, City, MSA, County, Zip Code, Neighborhood, Street Name.
  • Asset Type/Use – Multi-Family, Office, Retail, Office, Industrial, Land, Mixed-Use.
  • Building & Lot Size/Age – Building square footage, number of units, year built.
  • Sales History – Most recent sale date and price, multi-parcel sales.
  • Debt History – Most recent mortgage amount, origination and maturity dates, most recent lender, current stage of pre-foreclosure (if any).
  • Tenants – Tenant type, tenant name, tenant web address.
  • Ownership – Owner mailing address, in-state owners, owner-occupiers.
  • Tax History – Most recent tax amount, most recent year-over-year tax change.

Upon completing a property search, you’ll generate a list of results that match all of your applied filters.

You can either dig into each property individually and access contact information as shown above, or you can export the contact information for all of those assets in bulk, which we’ll discuss later in this article.

Pierce the LLC & Get Contact Info with Reonomy

By simply clicking the “Unlock TrueOwner” button in an asset’s Ownership tab, you’ll be given the names of all individuals associated with ownership.

That might be a single outright owner, or a group of individuals tied to an LLC.

Names of Decision-Makers and LLC Owners

For an individual owner, you’ll usually see a matching name for the reported owner and that of the lead contact in Reonomy:

Reonomy San Diego Property Owner contact information

For LLC owners, you’ll see all associated contacts, with the lead contact highlighted at the top of the list, as seen below:

Reonomy San Diego Property Owner Contact Information

The role of each LLC member is listed on the contact card as well so that you can see if they are a likely decision-maker on the property.

Reonomy San Diego Property Owner contact Information

You’ll also notice the green circle icons next to both the individual and LLC names in the screenshot above.

Reonomy uses green and grey icons to signify the most trustworthy ownership details and contacts associated with the property.

In some cases, for example, you may be presented with a lengthy list of LLC members. These icons help you decipher who you should contact first.Reonomy Green Contact Icon

Green icons represent the most trusted ownership details associated with the property. Often times, contacts with a green icon will be the ones most directly involved with the property—these are likely the most useful contacts.Reonomy Grey Contact Icon

Grey icons represent good additional sources of owner contact information that you can use to further analyze ownership portfolios (with a quick owner search) , or if you’re unable to get in touch with the primary decision-makers.

You can also see ownership structure, such as a holding company that owns the LLC behind a property. These contacts are nested, so that you can see the flow of ownership, and who to contact at each level.

Reonomy Ownership Structure

Phone Numbers, Email, & Mailing Addresses

After unlocking the TrueOwner information, you’ll be able to see the mailing address of the LLC in the top section of the Ownership tab.

Reonomy Property Owner Contact Information

In the detailed card, where available, you’ll also see the phone number(s), email, and mailing address of each individual owner associated with the LLC.

Office phone lines, cell numbers, and email addresses reside on the right side of each card (highlighted below). Mailing addresses of individuals appear on the left side, underneath the name of the owner.

Reonomy San Diego Property Owner Contact Information

Thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons allow Reonomy users to report the legitimacy of owner contact information for that particular contact.

Example: Finding a Commercial Owner’s Phone Number with Reonomy

Nowadays, one of the best ways to connect with a property owner is to reach them directly by phone. 

Yet, so many people have turned away from landlines (thanks, robo-callers!) in favor of using their cell phones exclusively.

Whether you’re looking for a property owner’s landline or cell phone number, Reonomy is a valuable resource.

Say you’re a real estate investor driving down the street. 

You pass a shuttered grocery store and think to yourself, “wow, this could be an incredibleredevelopment opportunity.”

You’d love to connect with the owner, but don’t know where to begin.

As a first step, you could look up that property by address in Reonomy, as shown below.

Finding Commercial Owner Phone Numbers with Reonomy

Now, again, on that page, if you click the “Ownership” tab and unlock the owner’s contact information, you can find precisely what you’re looking for:

1. Who owns the property.

2. And in this case, two phone numbers associated with that owner.

Commercial Property Owner Phone Numbers in Reonomy

Conversely, let’s say you’ve searched for a property and now know the owner’s mailing address.

Now you’re interested in learning if that owner owns anything else, and if so, where those properties are located.

Because properties are often held in different names, or under different LLCs, in this case, we’re going to search for information based on the owner’s mailing address, as shown below.

Property Owner Search by mailing address

You can also click the mailing address within any property Ownership card, to see all other properties attached to that same mailing address.

Searching Property Owners by Mailing Address

In either case, we can see that this owner actually has several holdings in the Greater Boston area.

Property Owner Search by Mailing Address

We can look at the ownership information for each of the property cards to determine if anyone else has an ownership stake in these properties, and if so, track down their phone numbers.

In this case, we’ve selected one of the properties under that owner’s name and see that there are actually several others who are part of the corporation that owns this property/portfolio.

We can see the landline, cell phone numbers and email addresses for each of these people.

Commercial Property Owner Phone Numbers in the Reonomy Platform

This is a particularly valuable way to find property owners’ phone numbers.

That’s because if an owner doesn’t answer a call, you can still contact an associate of their’s from another property, as a way of beginning the conversation you want to have with them.

It’s just an additional avenue to getting in touch with a prospect.

Another way you can use Reonomy to search for property owners’ phone numbers is by searching for properties within a specific asset class in a certain geography, as mentioned above.

Let’s say, multifamily properties located in Dallas, Texas.

Say you’re a contractor looking to generate new business leads.

Maybe you refine your search to filter for properties that were sold within the past year, as this may be an indication that the owner is interested in doing some work to their investment property.

Owner Search by Recent Sale Date

Now you have a list of all of the multifamily properties in Dallas sold within the past year.

Property Owner Search Dallas Texas by Recent Sale Date

As a next step, you can click through each of the searches to identify the contact information for the new property owners, or grab a list of phone numbers in bulk.

Unlocking Contact Information in Bulk

In some cases, you may want to gather contact information on many property owners at the same time.

For example, let’s say you wanted to run a targeted direct mail campaign in Phoenix to owners of multi family properties of at least 10 units.

After adding a few filters, you’re left with more than 2,000 prospect properties.

Reonomy Phoenix Property Owner Contact Information

Instead of having to go through each property to unlock the owner contact details, you can simply unlock all contact information in one fell swoop.

Once you have conducted your search, you can click the “More” button that resides at the top of your list of results, where you’ll see the option to “Unlock TrueOwners.”

Reonomy Phoenix TrueOwner Bulk Unlock

By clicking this, you’ll have the option to decide how many properties from your list you’d like to unlock contact information on, with the ability to pull as many as 250 contacts at once.

Reonomy Phoenix TrueOwner Bulk Unlock Contact Information

Once you type in the number of properties you’d like to gather contact information for and click “Unlock TrueOwners,” Reonomy will automatically unlock the contact information for those properties.

Exporting a List of Property Owner Contact Information

Also, from your list of results, you can export full lists of property information, including full ownership contact information.

To export property information plus contact information in bulk, click the Export button on the property search page.

Reonomy Phoenix TrueOwner Export Contact Information

In the dropdown, you’ll be able to select/deselect three options.

  • The first option is to unlock the contact information of all property owners in your export, outright.
  • The second option allows you to only export properties from your list that have the names of property owners available for them.
  • The last option allows you to break out the contact information from your list of property owners into a separate list.

From there, you can select the number of properties you’d like to export, along with the selections mentioned above. These lists can be exported in either an XLS or CSV file format.

In the end, the process only takes a few quick steps—from your initial discovery of the right, targeted property owners, all the way through reaching them directly on the phone.

The Reonomy platform can do the heavy-lifting for you, so all that remains is for you to pick up the phone, reach out, and start winning new business immediately.

Using Public Records and Other Sources

Why is contact information so difficult to access otherwise? Well, with public property owner records and other free or low-cost options, the data simply isn’t going to be reliable or up-to-date.

Getting contact information for anything close to free is likely going to result in more issues than it could potentially solve, creating the need for you to double, triple, and cross-check sources to make sure you’re not wasting too much time.

Reonomy is powered by these same public sources (across the entire country), but is also bolstered by a bevy of private sources and proprietary algorithms that bring contact information together in a way that’s never been done before.