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From NPR News

Zoom Towns And The New Housing Market For The 2 Americas

Zoom Towns And The New Housing Market For The 2 Americas

One America is living in a housing boom. The other needs support from the government or family for an affordable place to live.

NPR.org

Truckee is part of a trend that realtors and journalists are calling “Zoom towns,” places that are booming as remote work takes off.

But Zoom towns aren’t the only places where home prices are booming. Pretty much everywhere except Manhattan and San Francisco — places where home prices had already reached historic peaks — it’s a great time if you want to sell your house. “Right now, national home prices are up 8% from this time last year, so quite a big increase,” says Daryl Fairweather, the chief economist of Redfin.

With historic levels of unemployment and mounting business bankruptcies, this housing boom is a bit mind-boggling. But it’s kind of the perfect symbol of two Americas in the age of the pandemic recession.