With the promise of jobs and fledgling tech scenes, five of the top 10 hottest housing markets for 2019 all reside in the South, according to Zillow.
While the gravity of Silicon Valley entrenched San Jose, Calif., as the projected hottest housing market for the second year in a row, homebuyers are drawn to the relative affordability of striving Southern metro areas.
"When it comes to the country's hottest housing markets, long-time leaders are hard to displace, but a number of up-and-comers are nipping at their heels. Silicon Valley's white-hot jobs market has propelled the region's housing market — which we expect to continue into the early months of 2019 — but there are some signs that the trend is away from the West Coast and toward the South and Southeast," Aaron Terrazas, Zillow senior economist, said in a press release.
Orlando, Fla., came in second on the list and is expected to see the highest growth in population at 2.8%. Denver, Atlanta and Minneapolis rounded out the top five of the rankings. The other Southern cities to make the list were Dallas, Nashville, Tenn., and Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville notably had the second-highest home value forecast at 9.3%.
"Affordability is attractive — for both young professionals and booming businesses, earning markets like Orlando, Minneapolis, Dallas and Nashville top billing in 2019," Terrazas continued.
To make the list, expected home and rents values, population, income and job growth, and unemployment rates all outpace the country.
