Dive Brief:
- The tech hubs of Denver, Seattle and Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, top the list of Zillow's 10 hottest housing markets for 2016, the real estate site announced Tuesday.
- The remaining markets on the list are Richmond, VA; Boise, ID; Ogden, UT; Salt Lak City, UT; Omaha, NE; Sacramento, CA; and Portland, OR.
- Zillow determined its predictions for the year's hottest housing markets by considering cities' home value appreciation, strong income growth and low unemployment rates.
Dive Insight:
Zillow noted that the top three markets on the list are emerging tech areas and offer the potential for significant employment growth. However, the buzzed-about San Francisco did not make this year's list, as housing bubble concerns for the area are on the rise.
"Trendy tech centers like San Francisco, Seattle and Denver hogged the spotlight in 2015. But this year, the markets that shine brightest will be those that manage to strike a good balance between strong income growth, low unemployment and solid home value appreciation," Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell said in a release.
Zillow pointed out Omaha's low unemployment rate, at 2.9%, as one of the key reasons it made the list. Denver home prices grew 16% last year, but Zillow expects that growth to slowdown to 5% this year.
Richmond, VA, stood out due to its "strong and diverse economy," according to Zillow, as job opportunities in the manufacturing, education, government and finance sectors are predicted to grow this year. The remaining cities on the list all exhibit signs of strong home value appreciation in 2016.
Zillow's list of the 10 hottest markets for 2016 includes little overlap with the Realtor.com list of 10 housing markets to watch released last month. The Realtor.com list — topped by Providence, RI; St. Louis, MO; and San Diego, CA — and the Zillow list only had one city in common: Sacramento, CA.
Despite the differences in the two real estate sites' lists, the fact that they both excluded San Francisco demonstrates the concerns surrounding that market and its severe lack of affordable options.
