Market Health Indicator: 38.6
For a short time following Hurricane Katrina, Baton Rouge became the largest city in Louisiana. Since then, many of those temporary residents have moved back to New Orleans, but the metro area’s housing market has remained in decent shape. A port city that is home to the second largest oil refinery in the country, Baton Rouge is also the state capital and home of Louisiana State University (LSU). Its strong and diversified employment base has contributed to a jobless rate of only 6.7%. It is one of only three top 100 markets to have added jobs during the first nine months of the year. Permits, though, are off 46% during the first six months, with most of the decline in multifamily.
Get local housing data and more on Builder's Baton Rouge, La. Local Market page.
#5 Oklahoma City, Okla.
Market Health Indicator: 38.7
In Oklahoma City, another oil patch market that never hit pay dirt in housing, the median price of an existing home is $126,000, the lowest of the top 10 markets on this list. Home prices in Oklahoma City, which is situated in the middle of an oil field, have barely budged in the last year. The city has even seen the development of loft and condominium projects. Though Oklahoma City, which houses both the University of Oklahoma and Tinker Air Force Base, has shed some jobs in the last nine months, its unemployment rate, 6.45%, stands well below the national average. Finally, foreclosures haven’t been the problem in Oklahoma City that they have been in other markets.
Busiest builders: Ideal Homes of Norman, Home Creations, D.R. Horton, Rausch Coleman Homes, Sooner Traditions.
Courtesy: Hanley Wood Market Intelligence.
Get local housing data and more on Builder's Oklahoma City, Okla. Local Market page.