Montana Boomtown Jumps to No. 1 on WSJ/Realtor.com Housing Market Index

Rankings show how the housing boom has ignited homebuying in smaller to midsize cities around the U.S

By Nicole Friedman of The WSJ. 

This is a follow up to yesterday's post about the indifference principle. This shows that people will move to what they think is a better city (which could make costs higher there, and it ends up not being any better). People are moving to Billings, Montana and housing prices are rising much faster there than across the country. It probably won't be long until people will be indifferent to moving there or staying put since it is getting more expensive and that will eat up any extra benefits it might have.

Excerpts:

"Billings, Mont., is the new No. 1 on The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index, boosted by its affordability and appeal to remote workers.

The index reflects how the housing boom has ignited homebuying activity in smaller to midsize cities around the U.S. The top 20 cities in the ranking have an average population size of just over 300,000."

"The index identifies the top metro areas for home buyers seeking an appreciating housing market and appealing lifestyle amenities. This quarter’s version added the new criteria of real-estate taxes, which caused some areas in the Northeast, Midwest and Texas with higher property taxes to fall in the rankings."

"Billings, the biggest city in Montana, rose from the fourth spot to the first due to its low unemployment, affordability and booming housing market. With a metro-area population of about 184,000, Billings had a 3% unemployment rate in May, or about half the national rate."

"The average single-family home-sale price in Billings and the surrounding area was $376,248 in June, up 32% from a year earlier"

"Home prices in the top 20 markets in the index have risen 13.7% on average in the past year, outpacing an 8% rise for all 300 areas"