Baldwin County is the fastest growing county in Alabama, with a large number of buyers moving to the area from out of state. The resulting influx has increased demand for homes and led to skyrocketing prices, even as rising interest rates have cooled the market this last year.
Rachel Romash Reese, a realtor in Daphne and the owner of Elite Real Estate Solutions, says that out of state buyers are attracted to Baldwin County because of the prime location—near the beach—and the low cost of living. Coming from places where the taxes and cost of living is higher, those buyers can get more real estate for a better price in Baldwin County. She says many of her clients are from states like California or Michigan.
“The home values play a part of it,” Romash Reese said. “It’s just cheaper living here, I understand. It’s crazy out there.”
And the home buying process has become increasingly online: in 2020, 97% of all homebuyers used the internet in their home search, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Stacker compiled a list of the places throughout the United States where people were searching for homes in the Daphne metro area, using data from Realtor.com. The places are ranked by view share, which is the percentage of the total number of views from each metro area as of the second quarter of 2023.
Here are the ten places. Hint: Mobile isn’t in the top 5.
10. Baton Rouge, LA
– View share: 1.50%
9. Nashville, TN
– View share: 1.80%
8. Pensacola, FL
– View share: 2.60%
7. Birmingham, AL
– View share: 3.20%
6. Mobile, AL
– View share: 3.50%
5. New Orleans, LA
– View share: 3.70%
4. Dallas, TX
– View share: 3.90%
3. Atlanta, GA
– View share: 4.00%
2. New York, NY
– View share: 4.90%
1. Chicago, IL
– View share: 18.10%
Read More: Here’s where people who want to buy Baldwin County homes are coming from