{"id":179814,"date":"2024-12-13T14:57:12","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T21:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/?p=179814"},"modified":"2024-12-13T14:57:16","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T21:57:16","slug":"realtor-predictions-for-2025-center-on-south-and-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/realtor-predictions-for-2025-center-on-south-and-west","title":{"rendered":"The South and the West Are Expected to Dominate the Housing Market In 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Realtor.com<\/span><\/a> made its predictions about the top real estate markets in the U.S. in 2025, with unpredictability sweeping across the housing industry. <\/span>They forecast buyers <\/span>won’t<\/span> be in the mood to take <\/span>too many<\/span> risks, championing less-expensive markets on an economic upswing.<\/span> The information is a good indication of where <\/span>flippers<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>landlords<\/span><\/a> would do well to invest.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprisingly, the top 10 markets for 2025 are exclusively in the South and West. In rank order, they are: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Colorado Springs, Colorado<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia-North Carolina<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. El Paso, Texas<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Richmond, Virginia<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Georgia<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Danielle Hale<\/span><\/a>, chief economist at Realtor.com, said:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “While nationwide home sales <\/span>are expected<\/span> to see a slight uptick this year, driven by a cooling in home price growth, the top markets we’ve identified are poised for stronger sales and price gains in 2025. With mortgage rates likely to ease only modestly next year, these markets\u2014offering relatively lower-priced homes, more new and existing houses to choose from, and mortgage products designed to give buyers a leg up\u2014could provide some would-be buyers a better chance at entering the market next year.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Affordability and Flexibility Are Determining Factors<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Sunbelt markets in the South and West\u2014mainly Texas, Florida, and Virginia\u2014dominate due to lower home prices than the national average. Although homeowners spend just over 30% of their income on housing in these markets (31.1%)\u2014with 30% being the threshold that determines households being<\/span> cost-burdened\u2014incomes and the cost of living are generally lower in these areas, too. In McAllen, Texas, the most affordable city, the cost of living is 13% below the national average.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, not all these cities are cheap to live in, with Miami residents spending 42.1% of their income on housing. The cost of living here is 11.5% above the national average. But despite bad press about climate change and high-priced real estate, according to the Census Bureau, Miami was one of the <\/span>fastest-growing cities in the U.S.<\/span><\/a> in 2022-2023, and there is no reason to believe that will stop in 2025\u2014this means demand for housing will remain high.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It’s also interesting to note that even as workers at major companies and federal employers have <\/span>been mandated<\/span> to head back to the office, cities, where hybrid work is <\/span>popular with homebuyers<\/span><\/a>, are amongst the top places to live. Indeed, 50% of the markets in Realtor.com\u2019s list have a higher share of fully remote or hybrid online job postings in 2024 compared with the average share across the top 100 metros: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n