Austin Named #1 Real Estate Prospect for 2020

Austin, Texas was named the top real estate prospect city in the United States for 2020 in the Urban Land Institute’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate report, as reported by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

Rising to first place from sixth place in 2019, the report cited Austin’s “deep talent pool, unique lifestyle, and ambitious commitment to business and real estate expansion” as reasons for the rise. ULI noted that Austin’s real estate transaction activity is above the level expected for a market of its size and also that early results from 2019 indicate sales are above the three-year historical average. Among survey respondents, Austin was ranked a “solid buy” for industrial, office, and apartment purchases for 2020. For homebuilding prospects, Austin ranked sixth overall.

Challenges noted for Austin in the report include traffic, as well as pressure from housing affordability.

Among Texas cities, Dallas-Fort Worth also was in the top ten ranking, coming in sixth for overall real estate prospects for 2020 and ninth for homebuilding prospects. A factor helping DFW was that growth in the outer perimeter of the Metroplex keeps land costs down, while this same factor also weighs on the ability to develop downtown areas as 18-hour or 24-hour urban centers. Houston, still experiencing a boon from post-hurricane construction, was ranked third for homebuilding prospects and 42nd in overall real estate prospects.

Following Austin, the 10 top real estate prospects for 2020, according to ULI:

• Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
• Nashville, Tennessee
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Orlando, Florida
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Los Angeles, California
• Seattle, Washington