These Are the Best Places to Buy a Home in the U.S. (and Watch Its Value Grow)
Five of these cities are located in the West.
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Even if you aren’t looking for a house right now or not paying attention to the real estate market at all, you probably know that it’s tough out there. Mortgage rates are up, home prices are still up, the housing supply is tight, and that’s just a few issues to name! Because of that, prospective homebuyers are being more mindful of where they decide to put down roots now more than ever. They want their investment to pay off, of course.
Financial technology company SmartAsset just put out their 2023 Best Housing Markets for Growth and Stability study, and it provides some helpful information for those seriously looking to buy soon, or even just considering the prospect. Smart Asset compared home value data for 400 metropolitan areas between 1998 and 2022 from the Federal Housing Administration. The team compared the data across two metrics: stability, and overall home-price growth. Stability means “the incidence of homeowners experiencing a significant price decline (5% of more) at any point in the 10 years after they purchased a home.” And overall home price growth means “the total growth in home prices during the time period we analyzed.”
Taking all of that data into account, they were able to create a top 20 list for the best housing markets for growth and sustainability, which you can see below. While cities in Texas (including number one Austin) dominated the list, many cities in the West had strong showings, too—Boulder and Fort Collins in Colorado; Kennewick-Richland, Washington; Billings, Montana; and Cheyenne, Wyoming made the top 20 list. Overall, SmartAsset’s study found that home prices increased an average of 154.46% between 1998 and 2022.
20 Best Housing Markets for Growth and Stability, According to SmartAsset
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1. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
2. Midland, Texas
3. Boulder, Colorado
4. Fort Collins, Colorado
5. Kennewick-Richland, Washington
6. Rapid City, South Dakota
7. Odessa, Texas
8. Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas
9. San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas
10. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
11. Billings, Montana
12. Bismarck, North Dakota
13. Waco, Texas
14. Fort Worth-Arlington-Grapevine, Texas
15. San Angelo, Texas
16. Cheyenne, Wyoming
17. Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont
18. College Station-Bryan, Texas
19. Sherman-Denison, Texas
20. Abilene, Texas
And as for the worst housing markets for growth and stability, no cities in the West made that list, thankfully. But cities in Michigan and Ohio ranked poorly, with 13 out of 20 worst housing markets being in those states. You can see the full list here.
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