Realtor.com’s Hot Housing Market Picks

Here’s realtor.com’s hot housing market picks that outperform the national forecasted price growth of 2.2%. Lakeland, Florida tops the list with 7.4% forecasted price growth and 5% in home sales growth. Compare that to realtor.com’s national number on home sales growth of -2%.  Grand Rapids, Michigan is in the second spot looking at an 8.2% price growth and 4% sales growth. Ranking at number three is El Paso, Texas with 2.5% in price growth, offset by 7.9% in sales growth.

Other areas in the top ten include Chattanooga, Tennessee, Phoenix, Arizona, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Las Vegas, Nevada, Boise City, Idaho and Maimi, Florida. Realtor.com’s Chief Economist Danielle Hale shares her take on the numbers. “These local markets are a direct reflection of the local economies. If they are thriving, so is housing. These are also markets that appeal to younger buyers.”

The criteria realtor.com looked at included a strong economy with job growth outperforming the forecasted national average of 1.3%. Population growth numbers for the top ten at 2% compared to .65% nationally were included in the number crunching. Increasing new home construction in those areas looked good thanks to available land.

Let’s look at just what you can buy in the top three markets. In Lakeland, Florida for $209,900 you can move into a 3-bedroom lakefront home with a screened in back porch. In Grand Rapids, you’ll find your money goes far compared to other Millennial hot spots. For $240,986 a 1746 square foot updated brick ranch on the desirable northeast side of town. Moving over to El Paso, a 1708 square foot home with a pool, loft and cathedral ceilings is listed for $158,000.

These are strong Millennial markets. Millennials are expected to take out 45% the country’s mortgages this year, according to realtor.com. It’s clear they already like Grand Rapids, Michigan with 49% of the area’s mortgages going to Millennials. Thanks to a continuing wave of craft breweries opening, Grand Rapids according to realtor.com, was recently named, “Brew City.” El Paso, Texas came in with 45.7% of all mortgages going to Millennials. Chattanooga’s Millennials had 43.9% of all mortgages.

What this latest research shows is there is affordable housing around the country in areas with jobs and good economies that are attracting Millennial buyers. It’s no surprise none of the markets on this list are in California.

This post first appeared on Forbes.com. To see the original, click here.