Last Updated: Dec. 19, 2020 at 1:53 p.m. ET

First Published: Dec. 7, 2020 at 9:45 a.m. ET

 

By Jacob Passy, Market Watch

 

While San Francisco may not have the nation’s hottest housing market these days, its influence over the country’s top markets remains

 

 

Millions of Americans have embraced the work-from-home life. And the shift toward remote working is beginning to influence where people call home.

 

A new report from Realtor.com identified the housing markets that are poised to be the strongest in 2021 across the country. Realtor.com ranked cities based on their projected home sales and price growth.

 

Coming in at the top of the list: Sacramento, Calif.

 

The Golden State’s capital, Sacramento embodies the shifts that are expected to occur in home buyers’ preferences heading into the new year.

 

“This past year, we’ve all become more reliant on technology to work, learn and maintain personal connections,” Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said in the report. “The technology hubs that make this possible are thriving, as are their housing markets.”

 

Realtor.com is operated by News Corp NWSA, 0.00% subsidiary Move Inc., and MarketWatch is a unit of Dow Jones, which is also a subsidiary of News Corp.

 

Sacramento itself isn’t a tech hub — but by being a roughly two-hour drive from San Francisco and San Jose, it’s become a bedroom community for many people who work for the country’s largest tech firms but don’t want to break the bank with the high-cost housing in those areas.

 

And now that many tech companies, including Google GOOGL, 0.40% GOOG, 0.34% and Twitter TWTR, -1.23%, have indicated that employees can continue working remotely until next summer, or even beyond, there are benefits to living somewhere like Sacramento. It’s not too long a drive should a worker need to visit the office, but it has a much cheaper cost of living, plus good schools.

 

Other cities that will likely see their housing markets boosted by the popularity of remote working include San Jose proper, Denver, Seattle and last year’s No. 1 housing market, Boise, Idaho.

Another set of cities that will probably benefit from pandemic-induced employment trends are state capitals. “The relative stability of government jobs in the past year has driven home prices and sales in several state capitals to the top,” Hale wrote.

 

Besides Sacramento, Denver and Boise, fellow capitals Phoenix and Harrisburg, Pa., rank among the top 10 on Realtor.com’s list. Phoenix’s warm climate has attracted an influx of new residents from pricier metros like Seattle and Portland. And Harrisburg’s cheaper home prices — the median home price in the Pennsylvania state capital is just $262,000 — are a draw for residents of some of country’s East Coast hubs, like Washington, D.C., and New York.

 

 

RANK*

1. Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif.
2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
3. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.
4. Boise City, Idaho
5. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.
6. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
7. Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.
8. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.
9. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.
10. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.
11. Columbus, OH
12. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.
13. Fresno, Calif.
14. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.
15. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.
16. El Paso, Texas
17. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.
18. San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.
19. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.
20. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
21. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.
22.Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
23. Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.
24. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.
25. Jacksonville, Fla.