The most popular housing markets of the year were exurbs and small cities, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest, according to new data from Zillow. These are areas with lower housing prices than nearby big cities, like New York or Chicago, that are within long but still feasible commuting distance.

What does it mean for a city to be popular?

In this case, Skylar Olsen, chief economist at Zillow, said it means places where home prices have appreciated significantly. “And where do we see the most attention and traffic on Zillow.com,” she said.

This year, Manchester, New Hampshire, tops the list. Four cities in Connecticut also made it, as did Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Columbia, Maryland.

“Really the exurban cities, right? So, think of these as ones within 90 miles from, you know, that major city core,” Olsen said.

This tracks with general trends we’ve been seeing for the last few years: people moving away from big metro areas and toward smaller and medium-sized cities and rural areas.

Riordan Frost at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies said the biggest factor for most people is cost.

“Affordability in general has become a nationwide issue, and so I could really see that driving people to move out, especially if they’re trying to purchase a home,” he said.

And the rise of remote work has made more people feel like they can move further out, said Richard Green at the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate.

“Work from home has changed where people want to live. And if you don’t have to go into work, you can live wherever you like,” he said.

But, he said, the ability to work from home is key if you are moving for affordability.

“If you don’t work from home, I don’t think the exurbs are particularly affordable … because the cost of commuting is expensive,” he said.

Especially if you have to drive a long distance. 

And a lot of companies are calling people back to the office, whether it’s a few days a week or full time.

“And that’s going to make closer-in locations more popular,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS.

She said she’s already seeing that in mid-Atlantic markets.

“Recently, it has been the first-ring suburbs of D.C. and of Philadelphia where homebuyers have been most active. Which suggests to me that people are looking to be a little bit closer to the office, a little bit closer to transportation,” Sturtevant said.

Even if it’s a little bit — or a lot — less affordable.