Move over Big D, because ATX is now the top U.S. real estate market – at least, according to the latest report from the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Although Dallas has dominated the list in years gone by, 2016 appears to be the year Austin takes over the number one spot. According to the annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate report by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers, both Texas cities reached the top of the list of best places to invest in property and develop in 2017. However, Austin edged out the competition after a decade-long climb.

“This year Dallas flip-flopped with Austin,” said Andrew Warren, PwC’s director of research in a recent DallasNews.com article. “Austin has been steadily climbing in the last 10 years.”

But Dallas investors and home buyers need not worry. Warren added, “Both markets still look very good.”

Last year, the Dallas-Fort Worth market came in first with Austin a very close second. This year, the D-FW area maintained high marks for affordability and diversity in the local economy but fell short of Austin in the technology and niche development opportunities.

“The economy survived the global financial crisis better than most other U.S. markets and the real estate fundamentals continue to avoid the boom-bust behavior that has plagued the market in the past,” the report stated about the Dallas-Fort Worth market. “The Dallas-Fort Worth metro area has avoided becoming a victim of its own success, although rising demand is pushing up the price of housing in the market.”

Interestingly, the D-FW area received higher scores than Austin for its office market, apartments and housing conditions. However, Austin came out ahead with the “top city” award for 2017.

“The capital of Texas has consistently ticked the majority of the top boxes related to real estate market attractiveness,” the report stated. “Despite Austin’s growing popularity, it remains a comparatively small market in terms of investment opportunities. While Austin is unlikely to attract a meaningful amount of offshore capital, it tops many domestic investors’ wish lists.”

Other markets that placed high on the real estate industry’s wish list for 2017 include Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles. There were no cities from the Northeast region on the list.

Atlanta and Denver fell off the ranking completely due to concerns about overbuilding.

 

Read more about the report here: http://uli.org/press-release/emerging-trends-real-estate-2017/