Housing Hot Spots of America For 2017

-Written by Erik Sargent

The housing market is an ever-changing world, and fluctuations occur often of where people are moving to and away from across the country.

2017 is no different, and several southern regions of the country are expected to see a major boost in population due to a variety of factors.

According to Trulia.com, the city expected to see the biggest amount of growth heading into the New Year is Jacksonville, Florida. Jacksonville is one of five cities featured on the top 10 projection list from Trulia, with the cities being picked based on job growth over the past year, low vacancy rates, high affordability, and more inbound home searches than outbound searches.Rising job numbers and improved housing options paired with the warm, sunny atmosphere of coastal Florida and sandy beaches, it’s no surprise Jacksonville is expected to see a major surge.

“We have beautiful weather, we have beaches, we have NFL football, we have culture downtown, we have rural areas – we really have it all,” said Myrna Brannon, a real estate consultant with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Reality. “You can find anything in this town.”

Brannon pointed out that Jacksonville is the largest city in the United States area-wise, and the city has put tremendous effort into making it a destination for people to live.

“I think Shahid Khan buying the Jaguars has done a lot to put Jacksonville on the map,” Brannon said. “Jacksonville has been working hard to add companies and businesses, and we see a lot of growth in the job market here, which plays into the housing market. It’s an exciting time for Jacksonville.”

Increasing job and housing markets create a domino effect for many local business, with one of the strongest beneficiaries being moving companies.

One of the nation’s top moving companies – TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® – has seen a major boost in growth as Jacksonville continues to rise. The Jacksonville franchise saw 28.70 percent growth from 2015 to 2016, and is anticipating more growth heading into 2017.

“We anticipate a record-setting year for revenue in Jacksonville,” said TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Jacksonville franchisee Pete Ruffing. “We have been adding trucks to our fleet, and have already begun the recruiting, hiring, and training of new movers and drivers. Our CSR staff is stabilized, and are ready to attain our goals in 2017.”

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Colorado Springs is also preparing for a surge in people needing moving services. They’ve increased staff numbers, as their city checked in at number six on Trulia’s list.

“We’ve had to staff appropriately by hiring more people on the trucks and in the office,” said TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Franchisee Eric St. Pierre. “We have more office staff than we’ve ever had to try and take care of our customers the best we can.”

Another city featured on Trulia’s list was San Antonio, and the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® franchise there also saw major numbers for the year of 2016, posting 23.70 percent growth for the year. Preparing for an increased amount of people moving to the area remains a top priority, and the variety of moves they are expecting to see is vast.

“A key factor of people moving here is the fact that Texas does not charge state income tax,” said San Antonio TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Franchisee Curtis Newman. “A second factor is that living in southern Texas, we have very calm winters which makes it a perfect retirement destination. We are also hearing from businesses who want to move here, along with the educated and hardworking workforce due to favorable government regulations.”

Real estate agents have noticed a wave of people moving to the area, spanning all ages and backgrounds as the city and the entire state of Texas continue to grow.

“I think a lot of it has to do with people moving to Texas in general,” said Eric Thomas, a real estate agent at Keller Williams City View. “The economy is pretty healthy here, so jobs and the job growth market have been solid and continue to be solid. The weather is always nice here, and most importantly, San Antonio is military city U.S.A., so there are a lot of military families moving into our area.”

The four remaining cities from Florida featured in Trulia’s top 10 list were Cape Coral/Fort Meyers, Deltona/Daytona Beach, Tampa/St. Petersburg, and North Port/Sarasota.

Rounding out the rest of the top 10 was Grand Rapids (MI), Charleston (SC), and Phoenix (AZ).