One of the hot-button topics these days is the out-of-state people who have been moving to the NE TN – SW VA area. The bottom line is we’re no longer one of the best-kept secrets in the relocation game.
Most local communities have had active new resident campaigns for a long time. So does the state of Tennessee. NETAR works with cities, counties, and chambers of commerce when they need housing market data for their brochures. It’s a process that has helped attract new residents. But the pandemic and, more recently, the Wall Street Journal and Realtor®.com fired up those efforts with its Emerging Housing Index.
The index focuses on 300 metro areas’ housing market, economy, and standard of living. The Journal says its goal is to help readers find the hottest new places in the U.S. to live and own a home. The Johnson City metro area – Carter, Washington, and Unicoi counties – and Kingsport-Bristol – Hawkins, and Sullivan counties in NE TN and Scott and Washington counties in SW VA – were in the top 50 of the fall index. Other Tennessee metro areas are ranked but only the two Tri-Cities metro areas are in the top 50.
That ups the odds that the relocation trend will have legs to carry it past the surge of the pandemic relocations. It also has local real estate professionals sharpening their skills at being the last mile of the process.
Buying a home can be a complicated process. Being an out-of-state buyer makes the process even more challenging. And moving to an unfamiliar area or new state adds whole new levels of necessary preparation and expenses. However, many – if not most – newcomers make the process a lot easier by partnering with a local REALTORS®. That part of the great relocation story doesn’t get much attention as who the newcomers are and where they are coming from. But it’s crucial to the process.
Once the newcomer has vetted the area, he or she often still has questions that are more specific than what’s covered by the relocation guides. And there’s the issue of finding a home. To get answers they contact a local REALTOR®. It’s a staple for real estate transactions because having someone with detailed knowledge of the neighborhoods and local market conditions is invaluable.
Traveling back and forth between states to look at homes is time-consuming and cost preventative for most people, but with today’s technologies, it doesn’t prevent out-of-area buyers from beginning a search online. And local REALTORS® have become pros at simplifying and focusing those searches. In fact, some buyers have brought properties sight unseen.
The role REALTORS® are playing with city, county, chambers of commerce and state officials takes on added significance when you step back and look at the region’s population challenge. For the past decade or so the area death rate is higher than the birth rate. So, attracting new residents is the only way to sustain and grow the area’s population
Closer to home for the communities where newcomers settle is the fact that homeownership is not only an investment in their financial future; it is an investment in the life and economy of the newcomers’ new community. That’s because homeowners are more likely to be engaged in local issues and more involved with their neighbors. And REALTORS’® role in this ongoing population churn not only helps the newcomers find a new house, but it also helps make this new place really feel like home.
NETAR is the largest trade association in the NE Tennessee, Southwest Virginia region representing over 1,500 members and 100 affiliates.
