RealtyTrac: Austin, Texas Ranks Highest for Health and Wealth

With housing markets improving in several capacities across the country, ""RealtyTrac"":http://www.realtytrac.com/ set out to find which markets are doing best in terms of both real estate wealth and the health of their residents.

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""We are at a stage of the economic cycle where there are more positive than negative factors in front of us,"" said Ingo Winzer, President at ""Local Market Monitor,"":http://www.localmarketmonitor.com/index.cfm a real estate forecasting solution that helped RealtyTrac with its report.

""Despite the somewhat modest national recovery, there are plenty of local markets with excellent economic growth and good potential for the long run,"" he said.

States with markets performing well according to RealtyTrac's ""Health and Wealth"":http://www.realtytrac.com/content/foreclosure-market-report/best-housing-markets-for-health-and-wealth-7843 report include Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, North Carolina, California, Tennessee, Montana, Wyoming, Iowa, and Arkansas.

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To determine the health of a market, RealtyTrac considered several factors, including the level of activeness among residents, chronic disease incidence rates, fast food per capita, the percentage of smokers, the percentage of heavy drinkers, and air quality.

The top three healthiest markets, according to the report are Austin-Round Rock, Texas; Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, North Carolina-South Carolina; and El Paso, Texas.

When adding in unemployment, foreclosure discounts, and home price appreciation, the Austin, Texas, metro still came out on top.

However, it was followed by Fargo, North Dakota-Minnesota; Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Arkansas-Missouri; Provo-Orem, Utah; and Des Moines-West De Moines, Iowa.

RealtyTrac pointed out that prices are still below ""normal"" in many markets, though they are on the rise. ""Put an economic recovery on top of that, add very little construction in the past five years, and you have a highly favorable situation for anyone looking for sustained increases in home value,"" the report states.

However, as the report also notes, the return on real estate investment is just one part of what makes a place a desirable place to live.

""Affordable homeownership with significant upside, robust economic growth and an active outdoor lifestyle are meaningful factors for all homebuyers, especially for families looking to relocate from other parts of the country,"" said Steve Roney, owner and CEO of Prudential Utah Real Estate.