AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin-Round Rock area is the No. 2 emerging market in the U.S. according to The Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com's new housing index.
The new WSJ/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Market Index analyzes a combination of housing market data, economic vitality and lifestyle metrics to rank emerging housing markets "that offer a quality of life and are expected to see future home appreciation," according to a press release.
Austin-Round Rock comes in at No. 2 in the index. The No. 1 emerging market in the country is Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. No other Texas markets made the index's top 20.
The top 20 markets have seen home prices increase by 21% on average in the last year, compared to an average of 14% across all markets, according to the press release. The top emerging markets also have lower levels of unemployment on average and the median wages are slightly above average.
It will likely come as no surprise to Austinites, but the top emerging markets in the index are also viewed the most on Realtor.com by people who don't live in the area. On average, 61.1% of the markets' home shopping traffic comes from viewers outside their metro areas.
"Our emerging housing markets list is another example of how different housing markets are being shaped by people using remote work flexibility to relocate to less urban locales," said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. "With outperforming local economies and many small businesses, these areas offer locals a great quality of life that is drawing new residents in."
Hale also noted that how these markets fare as companies begin reopening offices could hinge on the degree to which workplace flexibility becomes more common.
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