Texas is leading the way, with four cities making the U.S. Census Bureau’s Top 10 Growing Cities list. Austin continues to make this list year after year with its current position being #8! With Austin having a thriving and continually strong real estate market as well as a strong local economy, it is no wonder that Austin continues to place high on lists similar to this. Below you will find the nation’s biggest gainers as well as the nation’s fastest growing metro-areas.

The 10 biggest gainers:

  1. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas: 162,250
  2. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.: 151,063
  3. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.: 132,513
  4. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas: 120,544
  5. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.: 86,660
  6. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.: 66,724
  7. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.: 66,231
  8. Austin-Round Rock, Texas: 65,880
  9. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.: 59,165
  10. San Antonio, Texas: 53,925

The 10 fast-growing metro areas

  1. Palm Coast, Fla.: 7.2 percent
  2. St. George, Utah: 5.1 percent
  3. Raleigh-Cary, N.C.: 4.7 percent
  4. Gainesville, Ga.: 4.5 percent
  5. Austin-Round Rock, Texas: 4.3 percent
  6. Myrtle Beach-Conway-N.C.-Myrtle Beach, S.C.: 4.2 percent
  7. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.: 4.2 percent
  8. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La.: 4 percent
  9. Grand Junction, Colo.: 3.7 percent
  10. Clarksville, Tenn.-Ky.: 3.7 percent

While Austin continues to see amazing growth year by year, many publications and companies rank Austin as having one of the most reliable and stable real estate markets in the country. Just recently, Forbes ranked Austin #4 in its Top 10 Best Cities For Home Sellers list. Forbes states that there are four main factors in determining if a local market is favorable to sellers. These four factors include job growth, amount of new home construction, vacancy rates, and credit availability. Austin ranks towards the top in the U.S. in job growth and many feel that an Austin housing shortage is imminent. Vacancy rates are ideal and the availability of credit is stronger than it was a year ago. I am honestly surprised Austin was not higher than 4th! Below you will find the list that Forbes recently published.

  1. San Jose, Calif. Because of a tough regulatory environment, new home construction dropped 63 percent last year.
  2. San Francisco. When the conforming loan limit recently jumped from $417,000 to the maximum $729,750, that made credit much easier to get for many of the city’s home buyers.
  3. Salt Lake City. The 3 percent annual job growth rate, paired with a declining inventory of existing homes and one of the nation’s sharpest declines in construction made this market a good one for sellers.
  4. Austin, Texas. Texas is very affordable, plus the city has the nation’s fastest job growth at 4.1 percent.
  5. Kansas City, Mo. The number of unsold, vacant houses dropped by 40 percent last year.
  6. San Antonio, Texas. Jobs are growing by 3 percent and construction starts have dropped by 42 percent.
  7. Denver. The 49 percent drop in construction starts paired with the 2 percent rise in new jobs are good news for sellers.
  8. Providence, R.I. Vacancy rates at 1.6 percent combined with a 42 percent cut in inventory help sellers.
  9. Charlotte, N.C. Moderate prices and strong job growth bode well for sellers.
  10. Seattle, Wash. Strong job growth and a 42 percent decrease in new home construction are good news for sellers.

If you have any questions related to this article or the Austin Real Estate Market in general, feel free to visit my site, which is updated regularly with an abundance of new Austin Real Estate information.