Wealthy buyers are turning to Ohio, Alabama and the Carolinas as they spread their property investments beyond established US hotspots such as Florida, California and New York, according to real estate executive Ryan Serhant.
Serhant, chief executive of his eponymous firm and a star of Owning Manhattan, said affluent clients were continuing to buy in traditionally wealthy cities while also seeking second homes in less expected markets.
He identified Huntsville in Alabama, central Ohio and Charlotte as the areas he expects to see the strongest population growth over the next few years. He said investors were paying close attention to the regions because of their data centres, which are helping to create jobs and build wealth.
“You would think that the American city is over, the metropolis is dead, and people are scattering,” Serhant said in a television interview. “And what you actually see is wealth multiplying to the benefit of both the individuals and the real estate assets.”
Serhant said Ohio in particular was being underestimated. “You go to Ohio and you look around, and there are more very expensive cars than you’ll see in South Beach, but no one talks about it,” he said.
His view is that wealthy Americans are not necessarily abandoning major cities, but are buying properties in more than one location. “They all want ease of access to great cities without necessarily paying to be in the centre,” he said.
Affordability is also drawing a wider range of buyers towards similar areas. “People move with their wallet,” Serhant said.
Why wealthy buyers are turning to Ohio and other lower-cost markets
Ohio homes cost about 30 per cent less than those on the US coasts, while Gen Z and millennials accounted for almost 30 per cent of interstate movers in an analysis by StorageCafe.
Danielle Andrews, a realtor with Realty One Group Next Generation, said the attraction was not only cheaper housing but the chance to build wealth sooner without being overwhelmed by living costs.
Ohio is also attracting major investment. Intel is building two chip factories in the state in a project valued at $28 billion, described as the largest private investment in Ohio’s history. Amazon Web Services plans to invest more than $23 billion in Ohio by 2030.
Andrews said the Midwest’s lower costs for essentials including groceries, fuel and healthcare were better aligned with local wages, allowing younger buyers to move beyond simply getting by.
New York faces warning over population loss
Serhant said the trend could pose a warning for even the most established cities. He estimated that New York lost about 12,000 residents last year, describing the figure as “definitely a warning sign”, though not a crisis.
He pointed to the city’s high housing costs as a potential pressure point. A four-bedroom flat near his SoHo office had recently been rented for $75,000 a month, which he said showed that New York had become “too expensive”.
Serhant argued that trying to drive out wealthy residents could leave cities worse off, as those people could simply buy homes elsewhere. He compared the competition between states for residents with companies competing for talented employees.
“If you have restrictions on employees on one company, really smart people at that company might say, ‘You know what? Maybe I’ll look for other jobs,’” he said. “Those companies are states. American citizens are employees.”
