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Zillow Research

As Rents and Home Values Rise in Many Markets, Is Tech Industry Really to Blame?

There is certainly a reason that many people associate the tech industry with pricey and unaffordable housing. In metropolitan areas with a large share of tech workers, rents and home values are considerably higher. But the reality is that expensive housing often follows in areas where a good share of individuals are earning high wages – whether they work in tech, finance, law, or any number of other industries associated with hefty paychecks.

Q1 2016 Negative Equity Report: Rust Belt Overtakes Sand States as Nation’s Nest of Negative Equity

As negative equity overall continues to fall, the epicenter of underwater homeowners in the U.S. has shifted from the notoriously hard-hit – but quick to recover – Southwest and Southeast, to the long-suffering and sluggish rust belt states. The shift is reflective of a housing market that has evolved from one driven by largely temporary factors caused by the massive housing boom and bust, to one driven by more fundamental, traditional factors like job growth, supply and demand.