Two Indiana communities are named as ‘hot housing markets’
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — A new report from the Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com shows two Indiana communities are among the top 20 emerging housing markets out of 300 communities. The publication says the addition of real estate tax data to the Emerging Housing Markets Index is part of the reason.
Fort Wayne comes in at No. 3 across the U.S, an improvement of 31 spots and Elkhart-Goshen now ranks No. 13, up 37 positions from the previous quarterly report.
Editors say the new report reflects the addition of tax bills, based on feedback from readers.
“We were looking for real-estate tax friendly markets. Areas with higher effective real estate taxes were ranked lower while areas with lower effective real estate taxes are ranked higher,” explained the WSJ.
The index identifies markets that will be good areas in which to purchase a home for homeowners and investors. It uses housing market data, real estate taxes, economic vitality, and quality of life metrics to develop the index.
The Journal says while the emerging housing markets have lower home prices, they also tend to have lower average wages.
While two Hoosier communities climbed in ranking, one Indiana community dropped. Lafayette-West Lafayette declined 15 positions from No. 6 in the first quarter index. No reason was given for the drop.
Click here to view the full report.