Whether you’re joining the real-estate business or just looking for a place to call home, it’s important to get a handle on the housing markets you’re considering before investing in a property. With unemployment falling and house prices rising, the market as a whole has been in a boom, despite the fact that the new tax code has drastically reduced mortgage interest deductions. But while home values are rising, up 5.2% from last year, fewer homes are affordable because mortgage rates are rising. However, home prices and rental rates vary widely across the U.S. based on supply and demand.
If you aim for long-term growth, equity and profit, you’ll need to look beyond tangible factors like square footage and style. Those factors certainly drive up property values. From an investor’s standpoint, though, they hold less significance than historical market trends and the economic health of residents.
To determine the best local real-estate markets in the U.S., WalletHub compared 300 cities of varying sizes across 23 key indicators of housing-market attractiveness and economic strength. Our data set ranges from median home-price appreciation to home sales turnover rate to job growth. Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and a full description of our methodology.
