Real estate video: Tips for first-time homebuyers
Tips for first time homebuyers
Evan Frank/IndyStar, Wochit
Three Indiana cities were listed as some of the top emerging housing markets in the country by The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index.
Besides the ones in Indiana, the list features 17 other cities from across the U.S. including cities in California, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
What is the Emerging Housing Market Index?
For the Index, The Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com reviewed data for the largest 300 metropolitan areas in the United States.
The list “highlights housing markets that offer shoppers a lower cost of living, including for homes, and thriving local economies that are attractive, but not too crowded.”
For this list, they took into consideration the population size, the unemployment rate and the median home list price, or the home price that falls right in the middle of the market.
The 20 cities featured on this list are places they think those looking to purchase a home in 2024 should consider.
12. Elkhart-Goshen
The first Indiana city on the list is Elkhart-Goshen at number 12. The population of Elkhart-Goshen is 206,890 and the unemployment rate is 4.1%. The median home listing price as of December 2023 was $260,000.
More: It’s hard for Gen Z to buy homes. A study says this Indiana city is the most affordable
10. Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne made the list, which is not surprising considering a recent study named it the No. 1 city for members of Gen Z to become homeowners.
The population of Fort Wayne is 426,076 and the unemployment rate is 3.4%. The median home listing price in December 2023 was $300,000.
7. Lafayette-West Lafayette
The area in Indiana that ranked the highest on the list was Lafayette-West Lafayette, home of Purdue University.
Lafayette-West Lafayette has a population of 226,452 and an unemployment rate of 3.3%. The median home listing price in December 2023 was $310,000.
The full list of the top 20 emerging real estate markets in the U.S.
- Santa Maria, California ($1,795,000 median home list price).
- Jefferson City, Missouri ($302,000).
- Canton, Ohio ($230,000).
- Racine, Wisconsin ($334,000).
- Oshkosh, Wisconsin ($295,000).
- Springfield, Ohio ($200,000).
- Lafayette, Indiana ($310,000).
- Columbus, Ohio ($360,000).
- Johnson City, Tennessee ($370,000).
- Fort Wayne, Indiana ($300,000).
- Concord, New Hampshire ($575,000).
- Elkhart, Indiana ($260,000).
- Rockford, Illinois ($200,000).
- Kingsport, Tennessee ($319,000).
- Akron, Ohio ($215,000).
- Topeka, Kansas ($227,000).
- Toledo, Ohio ($175,000).
- Portland, Maine ($600,000).
- Manchester, New Hampshire ($550,000).
- Reading, Pennsylvania ($317,000).
Craig Webb from the Akron Beacon Journal is a contributor to this report.
Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.