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Diagnosing the Health of Housing Markets

HandGrabbingHouseThe top 10 healthiest housing markets in the United States, according to software and data solutions provider SmartAsset [1], beginning with the number one region, are: Edgewood, Kentucky; Mesquite, Texas; Northridge, Ohio; Concord, Missouri; Jenison, Michigan; Bethel Park, Pennsylvania; Forest Hills, Michigan; Richland, Washington; Pearl City, Hawaii; and Clawson, Michigan.

Michigan was the only state to have more than one city in the top 10. Furthermore, according to a report by Trulia [2], Detroit had the largest year-over-year increase in the amount of homes that were flipped relative to the total number of homes sold, rising from 1.2 percent in 2015 to 6 percent in 2016. The current figure is the highest that has been seen since 2000.

The rankings for healthy markets are determined by: stability, affordability, fluidity, and risk of loss.  Stability was gauged based upon two equally-weighted measures: the number of years residents typically stayed in their homes and the percentage of homeowners who had negative equity and, therefore, a higher risk of foreclosure.

The company measured affordability by calculating the percentage of household income which was reserved for paying the monthly costs of the household. Housing market fluidity for each region was measured by examining the length of a time a home was on the market before being sold. Risk was determined by assessing the percentage of homes that decreased in value.

For the overall measurement of market health, 40 percent of the weight was attributed to affordability, while all other factors received a weight of 20 percent each.

The city with the highest fluidity, or the quickest turnaround time from when a house was listed on the market to when it was sold, was Pella, Iowa, with the average home staying on the market for only 4.3 days before being sold. West Allis, Wisconsin came in second, with homes staying on the market for an average of 5.5 days. The average household fluidity for the entire U.S. is 169.6 days.

Click here [3] to view an infographic from SmartAsset on the 10 healthiest housing markets.