Check into Cape Coral
Looking to buy a house somewhere with serious job prospects? Then Cape Coral, Florida is your answer. Employment in the small beach town has jumped 23 percent in just the last five years.
Where to buy a house if you’re on the job hunt
According to the latest Housing and Mortgage Market Review from Arch MI, Cape Coral, Florida is the nation’s latest boomtown. The city has seen employment grow 23 percent since 2014.
Other boomtowns also noted in Arch MI’s report include Boise City, Idaho; Orlando and North Port, Florida; San Francisco, Riverside and Fresno, California; Nashville, Tennessee; Austin and Dallas, Texas; Las Vegas; Ogden, Utah; Phoenix; Charleston, South Carolina; and Charlotte, North Carolina.
First-time homebuyers: Here’s where you can find affordable housing
All of these cities saw employment grow between 16 and 23 percent over the last five years. The national average for the same period was just 9.4 percent.
Ralph DeFranco, global chief economist for Arch MI, says the employment jumps are due to a variety of reasons, including locale, tech activity and overall business climate.
“We found it is not just tech jobs, city size or affordability, even though those do help,” he said. “We think it’s encouraging that there are multiple routes to becoming a magnet for economic activity.”
The nation’s weakest job markets
If you’re on the job hunt, you probably shouldn’t buy a house in Bridgeport, Connecticut. According to the report, the city boasts the slowest-growing job market in the nation, seeing just a 2 percent jump in employment over the last five years.
Two other Connecticut towns — New Haven and Hartford — also claimed spots on the slowest-growing list, along with Gary Indiana; Buffalo and Rochester, New York; Pittsburgh; Silver Spring, Maryland; Akron, Ohio; New Orelans; and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“Many of the weaker metros remain hard-hit by the decline in manufacturing employment or loss of a large employer and just haven’t had time to recover yet,” the report reads. “Most are in colder climates. Connecticut and New York are also somewhat hampered by higher taxes and changes in the financial services sector.”
Bidding wars are down; homebuyer opportunities are up
Get today’s mortgage rates
Want to buy a house in one of these promising job markets? Then shop around and see what mortgage rates you qualify for today.
Time to make a move? Let us find the right mortgage for you
