Americans’ bank accounts are under siege. Whether it’s a trip to the supermarket or a night out for dinner and a movie, the cost of just about everything seems to be on the rise.

So homebuyers are doing something about it. Frustrated by high home prices and rising mortgage interest rates, they’re increasingly seeking out more affordable places to live—like Lafayette, IN.

The Lafayette metropolitan area was named the top up-and-coming real estate market this spring, according to the quarterly Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com® Emerging Housing Markets Index. The top 20 markets are generally smaller cities offering cheap homes for sale, low costs of living, and strong job markets. The index highlights real estate markets that economists believe will be strong this year.

“We are continuing to see this shift in demand for less expensive markets, many of which are in Midwestern markets,” says Hannah Jones, an economic data analyst at Realtor.com. “They didn’t see the same kind of price growth that larger cities did during the [COVID-19] pandemic, so they maintained affordability.”

Not a single one of these real estate markets was in the West, the region with the highest home prices.

The index identified the top markets for both buyers and investors out of the 300 largest metropolitan areas. It looks at metros with strong housing demand based on page views of local listings, the number of homes for sale, property taxes, and median days homes sit on the market before a sale. It also factors in metros with robust economies, lots of well-paying jobs, a good quality of life, and desirable amenities such as lots of small businesses and reasonable commutes to work. (Metros include the main city and surrounding towns, suburbs, and smaller urban areas.)

The median home list price in the Lafayette metro was $289,000—about a third less than the national median of $424,000 in March, according to the most recent Realtor.com data.

The manufacturing hub of Lafayette, named after American Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette, is located about an hour northwest of Indianapolis and two hours southeast of Chicago. Big-name employers include Caterpillar, Subaru, and Wabash National Corp., which produces refrigerated truck trailers. It’s also home to Purdue University.

“Homes in Lafayette are significantly more affordable, and it has a strong economy,” says Jones.

Just two of the top 20 emerging markets—Manchester, NH, which has been consistently ranked as one of the nation’s hottest markets, and Knoxville, TN—had price tags above the national median. And just one market, Columbus, OH, the state capital and home to Ohio State University, had a population of more than 1 million.

“These are some of the only markets where locals and first-time buyers can afford to buy a home based on local salaries,” says Jones.

Top 20 emerging real estate markets in spring 2023

1. Lafayette, IN ($289,000 median home list price)
2. Bloomington, IL ($339,000)
3. Elkhart, IN ($275,000)
4. Lebanon, PA ($372,000)
5. Fort Wayne, IN ($339,000)
6. Topeka, KS ($249,000)
7. Sioux City, IA ($305,000)
8. Omaha, NE ($345,000)
9. Springfield, IL ($144,000)
10. Manchester, NH ($550,000)
11. Janesville, WI ($331,000)
12. Columbus, OH ($375,000)
13. La Crosse, WI ($334,000)
14. Johnson City, TN ($413,00)
15. Springfield, OH ($172,000)
16. Hickory, NC ($349,000)
17. Burlington, NC ($368,000)
18. Columbia, MO ($367,000)
19. Waterloo, IA ($263,000)
20. Knoxville, TN ($470,000)

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Watch: The Best Cities in the U.S. for Home Sellers Right Now

The post Where Americans Want To Live: These Ultra-Affordable, Up-and-Coming Real Estate Markets appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.