Yahoo Finance If You Live in One of These Ten Areas, Your Home May Be Worth Twice What You Paid
Whenever anyone buys a home, they hope to make at least a modest profit when they're finally ready to trade up for a bigger one or downsize, cash it all in, and retire to Florida. But for homeowners in certain cities across America, that slight profit may be ballooning into a big, fat one. A number of locales are seeing unexpected housing price surges that create unique opportunities for potential sellers. "It is certainly possible that if you purchased your house in one of these areas 15, 20, or 30 years ago it could now be worth two to three times what you bought it for," says Clare Trapasso, executive news editor at Realtor.com. In other words, if you live in one of these 10 cities, you may be sitting on a gold mine.
Realtor.com's list of the 10 fastest-growing real estate markets is a curious mix of large, expensive California cities, small, affordable Northeastern cities, and a couple of midwestern charmers in between. On the surface, these places don’t seem to have much in common. (Toledo and Los Angeles don't usually go hand-in-hand.) But they do share features that may explain their desirability. Read on to find out what's noteworthy about each area, and what's driving up housing prices. If you live in one of these metros, consider striking while the iron is hot and put your house on the market soon. And if you're contemplating a move to one of these previously undervalued locations, act quickly, before prices spike even more.
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Toledo, Ohio
Median listing price (as of March 2024): $230,000
In the Northwestern corner of the state, just across the border from Michigan, you'll find the unassuming city of Toledo. Known as The City of Glass due to its history of glass manufacturing, Toledo is a bit of a secret cultural mecca; it's home to the Toledo Museum of Art, the Imagination Station Children’s Museum, The Toledo Zoo, The Toledo Symphony Orchestra, and The Toledo Opera. Outdoor activities abound, with a botanical garden, the city's network of Metroparks, and the Maumee River meandering through all of the action. The increase in housing prices can be attributed to the attractions mentioned above, plus its affordability. "The median home price in the Toledo metro area is $200,000 less than the national average of $424,900," says Trapasso. "The overall cost of living there is reasonable and the area has good manufacturing, healthcare, education, and government jobs."
Oxnard, California
Median Listing Price: $1,065,000
An hour up the coast from Los Angeles, midway between Malibu and Santa Barbara, lies the sleeper city of Oxford. It has beautiful beaches (Mandalay State Beach was voted one of the top beaches in the US) and ample recreational activities, but is more affordable than its more well-known neighbors. "After Covid a lot of people from other areas of Southern California, and states like New York and Florida started moving here. You could get a house across the street from the beach for a very affordable price," says Nancy Villasenor, of Nancy Villasenor & Associates in Oxnard. She notes that prices went up by 21 percent in 2023—and that her own house, which she bought in 2016, is now worth double what she paid for it. Ventura County offered incentives to large companies like Amazon and Patagonia, which created a number of jobs, and new schools have been built to accommodate the influx of new students. While the days of a cheap beachfront home are in the past, Oxnard still remains a slightly more affordable, diverse, oceanfront city with a homey, small-town feel.
Rochester, New York
Median Listing Price: $279,900
By all accounts, this upstate city is the perfect place to live—as long as you don't mind cold weather and eight months a year of gray skies. Although it's more than a five-hour drive from New York City, Rochester is a sophisticated area and some of its suburbs are nearly as posh as those that ring the metropolis—with homes that are a fraction of the price. It's known for its amazing golf courses, great food, and excellent schools. For adventure-seekers, its location on the shores of Lake Ontario makes it a popular spot for boating and fishing, and there are ski slopes 40 minutes from downtown (and since there is zero traffic in Rochester, it will take exactly 40 minutes every time you make that drive). Post-Covid, as city-dwellers move upstate in search of more space, Rochester has become a hotspot, which is driving up housing costs. In fact, prices are up 85 percent since realtor.com started keeping track in 2016.
San Diego, California
Median Listing Price: $998,000
This affluent yet laid-back metro area is famous for its miles of surf beaches and attractions like the San Diego Zoo and Seaworld. For a while, through-the-roof home prices coupled with high mortgage rates were shutting out many prospective buyers, sending the San Diego market into a bit of a slump. Now the market is bouncing back in a big way, and becoming a refuge for those looking to escape the hustle of Los Angeles. In San Diego, Angelenos can enjoy a slower-paced lifestyle and take advantage of the excellent public schools (three San Diego metro schools made the top 30 of Niche's list of the best public schools in California), while still making the two-and-a-half-hour drive up to LA occasionally for work or fun.
Riverside, California
Median Listing Price: $599,000
We all know the first rule of real estate—location, location, location. Riverside is hot because "it's a less expensive alternative to Los Angeles, and only an hour away," says Trapasso. Tucked away inland, Riverside is the epicenter of California's citrus industry, and home to 24 nationally registered historic sites and more than 100 city landmarks. The walkable downtown features notable examples of classic architecture and is home to the iconic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa (which hosts the annual Festival of Lights). There is also The Riverside Art Museum, Fox Performing Arts Center, and the University of California at Riverside.
Bakersfield, California
Median listing price: $385,000
"Bakersfield is one of the last affordable cities in California," says Laurie McCarty, owner of The McCarty Group, a real estate agency in Bakersfield. "We have seen a huge influx of people moving here from other areas of California because it's two times as affordable as most other places in the state." For a long time, Bakersfield was a city of oil company transplants with people moving in and out every couple of years. This created a welcoming, friendly vibe that's still apparent today. Bakersfield is also known for having lots of job opportunities. In addition to oil and agriculture jobs, the healthcare and service industries have taken hold, and Amazon opened a huge distribution center.
Springfield, Massachusetts
Median listing price: $350,000
Springfield's proximity to one of the country's most beloved cities accounts for its meteoric real estate rise as a "cheaper alternatives to Boston," says Trapasso. "With remote and hybrid work, people don’t have to commute into their offices nearly as much. That's led some buyers to seek out more affordable areas to live where they can still get into the bigger cities for work or entertainment." (In addition to being two hours from Boston, Springfield is also an easy two and half hour ride to New York City, and under two hours to popular ski mountains in Vermont, such as Stratton.) While it's easy to get places from Springfield, there are plenty of reasons to stick around this small city of 156,000. For example, Springfield is home to the Basketball Hall of Fame and, as the birthplace of Dr. Seuss, boasts The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum and the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden.
Worcester, Massachusetts
Median listing price: $499,999
Worcester is an hour closer to Boston than Springfield, which means you can catch a Red Sox game at Fenway Park and be home in time for dinner. (Or skip the commute all together; the city has its own minor league team, the Worcester Red Sox, or "Woo Sox", who play in Worcester's own Polar Park Stadium.) The second largest city in New England behind Boston, Worcester feels more like a big, bustling college town (it has 12 colleges and universities), with a wide variety of eclectic cafes and restaurants. It also boasts the Worcester Art Museum, where you can see works by famous American artists including Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent, and the Hanover Theatre for Performing Arts. Worcester's housing market is up 85.3 percent since 2016, and its newfound popularity can also be attributed to the ongoing revitalization of its downtown.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Median listing price: $419,880
Grand Rapids is a sizable city—the second biggest in Michigan—but unlike most other large cities in the US, it's very affordable. "With interest rates so high, people are looking for places where they can get a lot of house for their money and be happy, and one of those places is Western Michigan," says Josh May, a real estate agent at RE/MAX of Grand Rapids, who points out that increasing demand and low inventory is driving up home prices. Grand Rapids has plenty of jobs (it's the furniture capital of the world and home to several large manufacturing and healthcare companies), and it's just 30 minutes away from beautiful Lake Michigan. With all of the money you'll save living in Grand Rapids, you may just have some cash left over to buy yourself a little weekend house on Lake Michigan.
Los Angeles, California
Median listing price: $1,150,000
OK, so a lot of California cities are seeing rising prices for being more affordable than LA. But the City of Angels itself is also watching home prices climb. With year-round sunshine, some of the best restaurants and shopping in the world, and celebrities around every corner, glamorous LA has always been one of the most desirable places to live in the country—and also one of the most expensive. Like San Diego, it has become too pricey for many buyers, but the lower mortgage rates at the beginning of this year seemed to have given the real estate market a kick in the butt. "[LA and San Diego] are such pricey areas that buyers may be especially attuned to rates. So when they dropped at the start of the year, more buyers may have jumped into the market helping to bid up prices," explains Trapasso. "Now that rates are back up, it will be interesting to see what happens."
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