Job Opportunities Fuel 10 Hottest Markets

A new list of the projected hottest housing markets in the nation shows that strong employment growth and opportunities are boosting their value.

With a few exceptions, the anticipated top 10 housing markets for the year are located in the South and West, with San Jose, Calif. at number one for the second year in a row, per Zillow. San Jose currently has the highest rate of job openings per person of all metros studied, 0.039, based on Glassdoor data. Home values in the tech hub are anticipated to grow 12.7 percent in 2019, and grew more than 10 percent in 2018. While rents fell last year in San Jose, they are now expected to appreciate 2.1 percent this year.

Markets that will continue to face challenges in 2019 are Cleveland and Hartford, Conn., as well as three large metros in the South – New Orleans, Memphis, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala. Cleveland has the highest unemployment rate of all metros considered, and the second-lowest household income growth rate (behind Hartford). And home values in Birmingham — a market where the median home value only passed its pre-recession peak last Spring – are expected to grow just 0.1 percent in 2019, the lowest rate of all metros considered.

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