Spokane, Washington.

According to the Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Las Vegas, Charlotte, and Orlando are the top four metro areas “primed for growth” and deemed to be attractive for home buyers in the next decade. The data comes courtesy of Redfin. Spokane makes the list due its available land and relatively low building costs. “The city has a lot to offer, and I think people are realizing that,” said Spokane-based Michelle Kendrick, market manager at Redfin. “We have a lot of big city amenities without the traffic. For people coming from a larger town, it’s really pleasant for them, and they like the small-town feel and friendliness of people.”

The four real estate markets were selected from 78 metros nationwide based on criteria that required the value of land to be less than 30% of a new home’s value, home price growth of more than 4%, sales growth of more than 4% and searches from out-of-area homebuyers exceeding 40% on Redfin’s website.Redfin also examined household income and job growth in the four metro areas.

Joel White, executive officer for the Spokane Home Builders Association, confirmed more people are selling their homes in higher-priced metro areas and using the equity to build property in Spokane, where land is more affordable compared with other West Coast cities.

But as the county continues to grow, so does the need for a mix of housing types, including more condominiums, apartments and duplexes. The county is able to expand its urban growth boundaries in 2025 to accommodate more housing, White said.

“That will open up new land for development, hopefully,” said White, adding Spokane’s cost of living, rebirth of downtown and new businesses on the West Plains are all drivers for population growth. “We have the ability to bring in more industry and jobs, and as you have more employment, that leads to more housing.”

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