- The real-estate market is booming, but homes are overall less affordable.
- WalletHub recently ranked the best cities in the US to buy a house, based on the local real-estate market and the affordability and economic environment.
- Seven of the top 15 cities to buy a house are in Texas.
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The real-estate market is soaring.
Falling unemployment rates and rising housing prices have led to a thriving market, according to WalletHub. However, rising mortgage rates mean less affordable homes.
So, where are the best places to buy a house? Per WalletHub, the answer is about more than square footage and architectural style – it’s also about how healthy the local housing market is and whether people living there can actually afford to buy homes.
To answer this question, the personal finance website compared 300 US cities of various sizes across two key categories: their local real-estate market and their affordability and economic environment. It evaluated 23 metrics within these larger categories, from median home-price appreciation and home sales turnover rate to job growth and foreclosure rates.
Each metric was weighted and graded on a 100-point scale - a score of 100 indicated the healthiest possible housing market. WalletHub then calculated each city's weighted average for each metric to determine its overall score in the final ranking. Note that no city scored perfectly: The top-ranked city on the list came in at 73.68.
Texas took over the list - seven cities in the state dominate the top 15.
Here are the best cities in the US to buy a house, ranked. Note that all median home values are sourced from Zillow.
15. The median home value in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is $161,800.
Real-estate market rank: 8
Affordability and economic environment rank: 103
Total score: 67.88
14. The median home value in Gilbert, Arizona, is $340,400.
Real-estate market rank: 25
Affordability and economic environment rank: 8
Total score: 67.99
13. The median home value in Fort Worth, Texas, is $197,900.
Real-estate market rank: 16
Affordability and economic environment rank: 27
Total score: 68.23
12. The median home value in Austin, Texas, is $371,900.
Real-estate market rank: 12
Affordability and economic environment rank: 28
Total score: 68.47
11. The median home value in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is $243,900.
Real-estate market rank: 18
Affordability and economic environment rank: 4
Total score: 69.19
10. The median home value in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is $136,700.
Real-estate market rank: 5
Affordability and economic environment rank: 51
Total score: 69.51
9. The median home value in Allen, Texas, is $319,000.
Real-estate market rank: 13
Affordability and economic environment rank: 6
Total score: 69.52
8. The median home value in Durham, North Carolina, is $229,900.
Real-estate market rank: 4
Affordability and economic environment rank: 37
Total score: 69.67
7. The median home value in Carrollton, Texas, is $286,100.
Real-estate market rank: 6
Affordability and economic environment rank: 21
Total score: 70.02
6. The median home value in McKinney, Texas, is $311,400.
Real-estate market rank: 26
Affordability and economic environment rank: 2
Total score: 70.23
5. The median home value in Denton, Texas, is $239,000.
Real-estate market rank: 3
Affordability and economic environment rank: 41
Total score: 70.51
4. The median home value in Cary, North Carolina, is $378,000.
Real-estate market rank: 7
Affordability and economic environment rank: 3
Total score: 71.07
3. The median home value in Overland Park, Kansas, is $317,000.
Real-estate market rank: 2
Affordability and economic environment rank: 57
Total score: 71.69
2. The median home value in Frisco, Texas, is $396,800.
Real-estate market rank: 9
Affordability and economic environment rank: 1
Total score: 72.44
1. The median home value in Boise, Idaho, is $301,500.
Real-estate market rank: 1
Affordability and economic environment rank: 38
Total score: 73.68