2021's Best Real-Estate Markets

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. This year, the housing market is in a unique situation as mortgage rates are only slightly above record lows at a time when many Americans are struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For those who have extra cash, buying a home now could be a golden opportunity. It is important to note that home prices have been rising on average throughout the pandemic as well, but 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 18 key indicators of housing-market attractiveness and economic strength. Our data set ranges from median home-price appreciation to job growth.

Main Findings

Best Places to Buy a House

Ranking by City Size

Ask the Experts

Economic indicators point to a strong housing market, but does that mean it’s a good time to buy a home? We consulted a panel of experts for their insight. Click on the panelists’ profiles below to read their bios and thoughts on the following key questions:

1. Is now a good time to buy a home? What economic indicators should potential buyers be watching?
2. How has the pandemic affected housing prices and the home-buying process? What changes should we expect on the housing market during the upcoming months?
3. Are foreign buyers driving up the cost of U.S. real estate? Which cities are most affected?
4. How likely is it that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates in the coming months? How will this impact the housing market?
5. Why are Millennials still sitting out of the housing market? What can be done to increase homeownership rates for this cohort?
6. In evaluating the healthiest housing markets, what are the top five indicators?
7. What trends are impacting the housing market in 2021? Will it crash or boom?

Methodology

In order to determine the best real-estate markets, WalletHub compared 300 cities across two key dimensions, “Real-Estate Market” and “Affordability & Economic Environment.”

We evaluated those dimensions using 18 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the healthiest housing market.

Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Each city in our sample was categorized according to the following population-size guidelines:

• Large city: More than 300,000 residents
• Midsize city: 150,000 to 300,000 residents
• Small city: Fewer than 150,000 residents

Real-Estate Market – Total Points: 80

• Home Value Forecast: Full Weight (~8.00 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on Zillow’s Home Value Forecast, which predicts the Zillow Home Value Index one year from May 2021.
• Median Home-Price Appreciation: Full Weight (~8.00 Points)
• Median Days on the Market: Full Weight (~8.00 Points)
• Share of Seriously Underwater Mortgages: Full Weight (~8.00 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the proportion of seriously underwater mortgages, where the combined estimated balance of loans secured by those properties was at least 25 percent more than their estimated market value.
• Ratio of Rent Price to Sale Price: Full Weight (~8.00 Points)
• Foreclosure Rate: Full Weight (~8.00 Points)
• Share of People Delinquent on their Mortgage Debt: Full Weight (~8.00 Points)
• Vacancy Rate: Full Weight (~8.00 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated as follows: Vacant Housing Units / Total Housing Units.
• Share of Young Homes: Full Weight (~8.00 Points)
  Note: “Young Homes” refer to housing units built between 2010 and 2019.
• Building-Permit Activity: Full Weight (~8.00 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the number of unit permits pulled per 1,000 residents.

Affordability & Economic Environment – Total Points: 20

• WalletHub’s “States that are Recovering the Quickest from COVID-19” Score: Triple Weight (~5.45 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “States that are Recovering the Quickest from COVID-19” ranking.
• Housing Affordability: Double Weight (~3.64 Points)
  Note: This metric measures home price as share of income.
• Maintenance Affordability: Full Weight (~1.82 Points)
  Note: This metric measures maintenance costs as share of income.
• Population Growth Rate: Full Weight (~1.82 Points)
• Job Growth Rate: Full Weight (~1.82 Points)
• Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~1.82 Points)
• Underemployment Rate: Full Weight (~1.82 Points)
• Median Credit Score: Full Weight (~1.82 Points)

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Council for Community and Economic Research, Zillow, TransUnion, Chmura Economics & Analytics, The National Association of Realtors, ATTOM Data Solutions (RealtyTrac) and WalletHub research.

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