Low mortgage rates can help spur more real estate buying activity among prospective homeowners, especially in hot housing markets that are primed for a boom. This could also be a boon for real estate-focused ETFs.
Things are lined up to be a great year. The surprise plunge in rates to start the year has spurred a surge in refinancing activity that wasn’t expected and with unemployment at 50-year lows, there are plenty of would-be home buyers in the market. Both purchase and refinance originations will be strong this year – oftentimes it’s only one or the other.
Four of the real estate markets seeing the largest growth in home sales and searches from out-of-town buyers also have low building costs. All four are located in states with either low – or no – state income taxes, from Washington to North Carolina and Florida.
Here are the four cities that Fox Business tagged as prime for a housing boom:
- Spokane, Washington: The median price of an existing home is $255,000, or $350,000 for a new home.
- Las Vegas, Nevada: The median home price of an existing home is $285,000, and the median price of a new home is $388,000.
- Charlotte, North Carolina: The median price of an existing home is $248,000, and the median price of a new home is $325,000.
- Orlando, Florida: The median sale price of an existing home is $250,000, and a new home costs about $316,000.
