This Unexpected Town Was Zillow's Most Popular City In 2022
If you're like most people, scrolling through real estate listings is a favorite pastime. Sometimes, it's just interesting to see the current value of homes, or you may wonder about life in a different climate than where you are now. Even if you aren't planning to move to whatever town you are browsing, you can still dream, right?
New York psychotherapist Kathryn Smerling agrees, sharing with Huff Post in an article titled, "Why Scrolling Zillow Feels So Good," that "We all fantasize about what it would be like to spend more time in another location with a hot tub by the ocean. There's an element of good health in fantasy — obviously not every day, but having these healthy fantasies can keep you going sometimes." Even SNL got in on the fun with an attention-grabbing sketch on searching for the perfect home on Zillow starring Dan Levy of Schitt's Creek, and viewers were sold. According to Salon, Twitter users went crazy with one saying, "As a 35-year-old, the Zillow commercial is probably the best, most-accurate SNL skit I've seen."
Generally, we think of popular, well-known cities such as NYC or Chicago, but sometimes a small, unexpected town creeps onto these lists, and that's exactly what happened recently — here is Zillow's most popular city of 2022.
Prairie Village, Kansas
Prairie Village, a town that is a 20-minute drive from bustling Kansas City, has landed the number one spot as the most popular in the U.S. In a press release issued on Zillow, economic data analyst Anushna Prakash, says that since the market shifted to a hybrid employment model after the pandemic, affordable housing has become an important factor for buyers.
Prairie Village, a small-town suburban mecca, is close to a large metropolis and has everything you would want in a community, from upscale restaurants and boutique shopping to parks for the kids to enjoy. In the same press release, Earvin Ray, owner of Ray Homes in Kansas City, said "Prairie Village offers the trifecta of beautiful homes, a spectrum of accessible price points and great amenities, such as highly rated schools, community events, and local shopping." So if you're looking for a quaint spot to call home, and want to quit fantasy scrolling, this town sounds like the perfect village for families looking for plenty to do and affordability.
Other cities that have made the list include: Grand Rapids, for the best large city; Beverly, Massachusetts, reigning in as the best seaside town; Dunedin, Florida, for the best place to retire; Windham, New Hampshire, for the best small town, and Lavallette, New Jersey, as the most popular spot to vacation.