Buying a home is seen as the most substantial investment most people make in their lifetime. So, whether it's a first-time home purchase or property to turn a profit on, knowing what locations consistently provide price growth and low risk can pay dividends.
While high appreciation hurts those looking for affordability, it casts a safety net of future returns for buyers and diminishes housing bubble dangers. Since 2015, SmartAsset analyzed where in the country has the most sustainable growth, finding the same clusters keep rising to the top.
"We have performed our study on the best housing markets for growth and stability for the past five years now, and Colorado metro areas have consistently performed well," Ross Urken, a Senior Editor at SmartAsset, said in a statement. "Boulder, Denver and Fort Collins have cracked the top 10 housing markets with the most stable growth for the past four years and Boulder has claimed the number-one spot in our rankings every year. In Boulder, homeowners have consistently experienced no chance of suffering a significant price decline in the decade following their home purchase."
From Big Sky Country to the peaks of Colorado, here's a look at the 12 metro areas offering owners the most stability and appreciation in home prices over the past 25 years.
The analysis, based on Federal Housing Administration data, evaluates 358 housing markets from 1994 through 2018. Each market was given a score on a 100-point scale in both stability — the probability homeowners experienced a price decline of 5% or more at any point in the 10 years after purchasing a home — and overall price growth in the time period. The scores were then averaged to create the index value, giving a rank to each metro area.
No. 12 Billings, Mont.
Growth and stability index: 73.71 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 0% Home price growth 1994-2018: 164%
/James - stock.adobe.com
No. 11 Odessa, Texas
Growth and stability index: 74.2 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 8% Home price growth 1994-2018: 212%
Rex Wholster - stock.adobe.com
No. 10 Cheyenne, Wyo.
Growth and stability index: 75.01 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 0% Home price growth 1994-2018: 170%
Cheyenne, Wyoming - State Capitol Building. Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA.
Henryk Sadura/Henryk Sadura - stock.adobe.com
No. 9 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
Growth and stability index: 75.62 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 0% Home price growth 1994-2018: 174%
Ryan Conine - stock.adobe.com
No. 8 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.
Growth and stability index: 77.06 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 17% Home price growth 1994-2018: 279%
Sunny Denver Skyline. Spring in Colorado. Denver Skyline and Snowy Rocky Mountains.
Tomasz Zajda - Fotolia
No. 7 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
Growth and stability index: 78.89 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 19% Home price growth 1994-2018: 357%
Yuval Helfman/Yuval Helfman - stock.adobe.com
No. 6 San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif.
Growth and stability index: 78.89 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 19% Home price growth 1994-2018: 375%
San Francisco cable car and view of alcatraz island
Vlad Turchenko - stock.adobe.com
No. 5 Bismarck, N.D.
Growth and stability index: 81.4 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 0% Home price growth 1994-2018: 204%
North Dakota Capital Building in Bismarck, ND
Paul Brady/pabrady63 - stock.adobe.com
No. 4 Fort Collins, Colo.
Growth and stability index: 87.24 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 2% Home price growth 1994-2018: 245%
aerial view of Fort Collins downtown in sunrise light, shot from a low flying drone
Marek Uliasz/Marek - Fotolia
No. 3 Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
Growth and stability index: 88.85 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 0% Home price growth 1994-2018: 242%
kbose - stock.adobe.com
No. 2 Midland, Texas
Growth and stability index: 91.74 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 0% Home price growth 1994-2018: 256%
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Kristina - stock.adobe.com
No. 1 Boulder, Colo.
Growth and stability index: 93.82 Odds of 5% loss in home price within 10 years of purchase: 0% Home price growth 1994-2018: 268%
The fiscal condition at the government agency is much healthier today than when the Department of Housing and Urban Development put the policy into effect back in 2013.
Activity from smaller mom-and-pop investors dominates the segment, but their impact on overall housing prices might be overstated, Corelogic's research found.
Flood insurance could hold up some home sales and lending, while major bank regulatory agencies will remain funded even if the government is unable to pass the necessary legislation before funding runs out.
The Federal Housing Administration is suggesting servicers get early access to the funds they have advanced at a time when many T&I payments have been high.
A borrower alleges the bank made billions of dollars in profit off millions of dollars in rate lock extension fees it wrongly charged mortgage customers.
