A Future New No. 1?
There were only two major changes in the Local Leaders top 10 in the past year, but they were both big changes. Miami, which held the seventh slot on our 2015 list, dropped all the way to No. 18 this go-round. The Magic City’s exit from the top 10 allowed Charlotte, San Antonio, Orlando, and New York—which all saw closings increase significantly (by at least 800 homes) in 2015—to each gain top spots on our latest list.
The other story to come out of the top 10 was the rise of Phoenix. After seeing 9,687 closings in 2014, the city gained almost 2,000 closings to hit 11,456 in 2015. That vaulted it past Austin and Washington, D.C., to No. 4 on the list.
Phoenix has had a lot of ground to cover since bottoming out in the recession. And while it’s still not all the way back yet, the Valley of the Sun is making strides.
“Phoenix has had a very strong recovery in the last year,” says David Brown, senior vice president of the West region for Metrostudy. “From a relative historical perspective, it’s still very, very low total numbers.”
There was no movement at the very top of the list, but the gap between Houston and Dallas has narrowed significantly. In 2015, Houston, which has been plagued by energy woes, saw closings edge up by only 92 homes to 26,101. Dallas added 3,237 homes in 2015 for a total of 22,956, resulting in a difference of less than 3,500 homes between the two Texas cities.
“Dallas Fort/Worth continues to be very strong,” Brown says. “It’s all about the job growth. It will pass Houston soon. It already has based on starts.”
10. New York/Newark/Jersey City, N.Y./N.J./Pa.
9. Orlando/Kissimmee/Sanford, Fla.
8. San Antonio/New Braunfels, Texas
7. Charlotte/Concord/Gastonia, N.C./S.C.
6. Austin/Round Rock, Texas
5. Washington/Arlington/Alexandria, D.C./Va./Md./W.Va.
4. Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, Ariz.
3. Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Roswell, Ga.
2. Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington, Texas
1. Houston/The Woodlands/Sugar Land, Texas
