Around this same time last year, we posted about the Realtor.com and Yelp deal because we felt it was important for our homebuilder clients to know about and understand the impact of this new relationship.

Now, Realtor.com and Yelp recently unveiled the findings of a collaborative study determining the hottest hipster housing markets in the US. Columbus, home to Ohio State University, somewhat surprisingly took the top spot. This survey listed the most in-demand markets which feature the greatest concentration of hipster-friendly businesses. Despite their unique perspectives on music and fashion, hipsters tend to be very adept when it comes to real estate.

Cities with many businesses that embrace the indie culture tend to attract millennials that move there from outside the region. Those in this group aged 25 to 34 comprise 22% of the entire population of the top 10 markets listed in this report. This is substantially higher than the overall national millennial population of 13%. Also, millennials from outside the area view property listings in these markets at a rate of 1.2x more than those who already live there. This shows that young people are attracted to moving to these cities even if they previously had no connection to the area. This helps explain why the housing market is strong in these towns, with homes typically selling within 30 days of listing.

This list of hipster hotspot markets was compiled using a number of variables. First, it leveraged Yelp data to rank zip codes based on the biggest gap between the number of reviews in zip codes featuring the term “hipster.” This was coupled with the number in the given zip’s city. Secondly, the market hotness index was determined by taking into account page views and days listed on the market for homes on realtor.com. The overall ranking was based on a composite index of the Yelp score and the realtor.com hotness index.

The full list of top ten hipster hotspots is as follows, from 1 to 10: Columbus, Seattle, San Diego, Fort Wayne, Rochester, San Francisco, Long Beach, Louisville, Grand Rapids and Colorado Springs. For the full article, check out this report on Builder Online.

For our take on reaching millennials, check out our post The Millennial Myth. We can help you connect with millennials and any generation that you want to target. Contact us today or give us a call at 800.536.6637 to start reaching the right audiences at the right times.