Looking for a new home? Texas has three of the top five overall real estate markets, a new WalletHub study suggests.
Frisco, Texas, tops WalletHub’s list of Best Real Estate Markets, with McKinney, Texas, at No. 2, and Denton, Texas, at No. 5. All three are classified as midsize cities in WalletHub’s listing.
North Carolina also placed three cities in the top 20. Charlotte, which ranked No. 9 overall, took the top spot among larger cities with populations of 300,000 or more.
How WalletHub Ranked the Markets
WalletHub compared 300 U.S. cities of various sizes across 17 key indicators, including median home-price appreciation, housing affordability and job growth.
“Current home prices are extremely important, but there’s much more that you need to look at when determining the health of a city’s real estate market,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo in a statement accompanying the report.
Frisco and McKinney benefited from their high percentage of newer homes, built between 2010 and 2024, according to the report. Frisco rates high for affordability and job growth. McKinney also has a good job market and continues to build, with the 10th-highest number of building permits per capita, WalletHub found.
“Factors like the cost of living, the potential for the value of homes to increase, the availability of recently built homes and the quality of the city’s job market are all important to consider in conjunction with asking prices and interest rates,” Lupo said. “The best cities may not always be the cheapest, but they offer excellent housing options and long-term stability.”
WalletHub’s Top U.S. Real Estate Markets
The top 20 markets in WalletHub’s overall ranking were:
- 1) Frisco, Texas (70.72)
- 2) McKinney, Texas (69.83)
- 3) Murfreesboro, Tennessee (68.97)
- 4) Durham, North Carolina (68.34)
- 5) Denton, Texas (68.08)
- 6) Cary, North Carolina (67.60)
- 7) Madison, Wisconsin (66.97)
- 8) Allen, Texas (65.30)
- 9) Charlotte, North Carolina (64.62)
- 10) Irvine, California (64.28)
- 11) Charleston, South Carolina (63.49)
- 12) Roseville, California (63.46)
- 13) Gilbert, Arizona (63.41)
- 14) Salt Lake City, Utah (63.40)
- 15) Knoxville, Tennessee (63.33)
- 16) Richardson, Texas (63.23)
- 17) Stamford, Connecticut (63.15)
- 18) Jersey City, New Jersey (62.93)
- 19) Raleigh, North Carolina (62.75)
- 20) Henderson, Nevada (62.45)
WalletHub used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Zillow, the National Association of Realtors and other sources. The analysis considered home-price appreciation, median days homes were on the market, housing and maintenance affordability, job growth, unemployment, foreclosure rates and vacancy rates. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the healthiest housing market.
What Buyers Should Consider
Homebuyers currently face a challenging U.S. housing market with high mortgage rates, overall economic uncertainty, a weakening job market and affordability concerns.
Home prices are at a record high, while the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is holding firm at about the same rate as a year ago. The average rate since 1971 is just under 8%, according to Freddie Mac.
Despite those challenges, it can still be a good time to buy a home, according to Martina Schmidt, a professor of instruction at the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance at the University of South Florida-St. Petersburg, who offered commentary accompanying WalletHub’s list.
“While mortgage rates are still elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, they are not that high compared to average rates over time. As a quick reminder, mortgage rates peaked around 18% in the early 1980s,” Schmidt said.
“If a buyer locks in a rate now and the rate falls later, the mortgage can be refinanced. Therefore, negotiating a mortgage without any prepayment penalties is important,” she said. “In summary, it is a good time to buy if a buyer has done some research on local market conditions, is ready and well-qualified, and homeownership is part of a long-term plan.”
Top Markets by City Size
Among large cities with more than 300,000 residents, the top 10 were:
- 1) Charlotte, North Carolina (64.62)
- 2) Irvine, California (64.28)
- 3) Raleigh, North Carolina (62.75)
- 4) Henderson, Nevada (62.45)
- 5) Fort Worth, Texas (62.25)
- 6) Nashville, Tennessee (61.94)
- 7) Seattle, Washington (60.88)
- 8) Austin, Texas (60.84)
- 9) Miami, Florida (60.28)
- 10) Columbus, Ohio (59.77)
Among medium-sized cities with 150,000 to 300,000 residents, the top 10 were:
- 1) Frisco, Texas (70.72)
- 2) McKinney, Texas (69.83)
- 3) Murfreesboro, Tennessee (68.97)
- 4) Durham, North Carolina (68.34)
- 5) Denton, Texas (68.08)
- 6) Cary, North Carolina (67.60)
- 7) Madison, Wisconsin (66.97)
- 8) Charleston, South Carolina (63.49)
- 9) Roseville, California (63.46)
- 10) Gilbert, Arizona (63.41)
Among small cities with fewer than 150,000 residents, the top 10 were:
- 1) Allen, Texas (65.30)
- 2) Richardson, Texas (63.23)
- 3) Stamford, Connecticut (63.15)
- 4) Carrollton, Texas (62.32)
- 5) North Charleston, South Carolina (61.68)
- 6) Santa Clara, California (61.03)
- 7) Wilmington, North Carolina (60.93)
- 8) Clovis, California (60.83)
- 9) Longmont, Colorado (60.66)
- 10) Green Bay, Wisconsin (60.46)
WalletHub’s full list includes 300 cities.
