Big cities may grab most of the headlines when it comes to housing, but gains in smaller cities shouldn’t be ignored.
One key behind many small towns' growth: a nearby college. Several smaller cities nabbing a spot in Smartasset’s top 25 list for rising housing values are college towns, such as Auburn, Ala.; Fayetteville, Ark.; and Bowling Green, Ky. “In many smaller cities, universities act as economic hubs supporting the whole community and keeping the economy growing,” the report notes.
Texas cities continue to dominate among smaller locales too, just like in
Smartasset’s big cities list of rising housing markets. Texas boasted five cities in the top 10 list.
Smartasset researchers analyzed data on home values, incomes, population size, and housing units to identify the smaller cities with the highest rising housing markets. Researchers factored in data from 2011 and 2015 and then calculated the percentage change. Smaller cities were considered those with populations between 50,000 and 100,000.
Smartasset identified the following top 10 rising housing markets among smaller cities:
1. Pasco, Wash.
2. New Braunfels, Texas
3. The Villages, Fla.
4. Pharr, Texas (tie)
4. Auburn, Ala. (tie)
6. Cedar Park, Texas
7. San Angelo, Texas
8. Redmond, Wash.
9. Fayetteville, Ark.
10. Edinburg, Texas
View the full list of top 25 small cities
at Smartasset.com.
Source: “Rising Housing Markets: Smaller Cities Edition,” Smartasset (March 28, 2017)
