Housing markets in coastal cities have been the hottest in recent years, but Trulia predicts that the top markets in 2019 will be inland cities where homes are more affordable.
San Francisco-based Trulia, a provider of online guides for home buyers and renters, predicts that these will be the five best housing markets next year:
1. Colorado Springs, Colorado
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2. Grand Rapids, Michigan
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3. Jacksonville, Florida
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4. Bakersfield, California
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5. Austin, Texas
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Trulia based its rankings of the best housing markets in 2019 on measures that include employment growth, residential vacancy rates, the percentage of the local population under age 35 and the potential for young adults to become first-time home buyers.
The firm also based ranked cities higher if they show more inbound than outbound searches for homes, indicating that people who want to remain in those cities outnumber those who want to relocate.
Trulia also predicted that 2019 will be a year of moderation for the overall U.S. housing market.
Home sales are likely to decelerate in 2019 as owners hesitate to list properties for sale at lower prices than they could have commanded in recent years.
“After several years of breakneck appreciation following the end of the housing recession, the latter half of 2018 may have marked a turning point and the beginning of a return to more normalcy and balance in the market,” according to Trulia. [HousingWire.com] – Mike Seemuth