Grand Rapids has raked in another honor!

Recently topping the list for Hottest Real Estate Markets to Watch in 2016, GR has also been named by Forbes the No. 1 City to Invest in Housing in 2016

Forbes teamed up with Local Market Monitor, a North Carolina-based data company that tracks home prices and economic factors in more than 300 housing markets.

Cities were scanned for characteristics that make for good investments: healthy job growth, strong population growth, and anticipated home price appreciation.

According to Forbes:

Both our No.1 metro area, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Tampa, Fla. (No. 14), boast a healthy 3.1% three-year population growth rate, according to the latest Census data, indicating that people are moving there at a higher rate than the national average (2.3%, 2011-2014). But employment in greater Grand Rapids expanded by 3.9% in the 12 months to November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest rate among the 100 metro areas we examined, compared to a 2.6% clip in Tampa. As a result, Grand Rapids gets a higher ranking.

The Michigan city boasts a diverse economy: In addition to its historic roots in furniture-making (these days for Steelcase, Haworth, and Herman Miller), Grand Rapids has a “Medical Mile” of medical suppliers, as well firms specializing in aerospace and advanced manufacturing. A couple hundred miles west of Detroit, greater Grand Rapids is also a major supplier to the auto industry. As we came out of the last recession Grand Rapids was really propelled by the manufacturing side,” says Paul Iseley, economics professor at the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University. “Now what we’re seeing is the second edge of that, moving into services.”

Here were the other contenders for Best Buy Cities: Where to Invest in Housing in 2016:

  1. Grand Rapids, Mich.
  2. Orlando, Fla.
  3. San Antonio, Texas
  4. Charlotte, N.C.
  5. Salt Lake City, Utah
  6. Dallas, Texas
  7. Austin, Texas
  8. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
  9. Seattle, Wash.
  10. Cape Coral, Fla.

 

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