Canton is Wall Street Journal's No. 3 city for emerging housing markets in U.S.
Five Ohio cities are among the top emerging housing markets in the country, according to The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index.
And the difference between No. 1 in Santa Maria, California, and No. 3 in Canton is more than 2,493 miles, while the affordability of the homes in those two markets is a whopping $1.56 million difference.
Springfield also came in at No. 6 on the list, while Columbus sat at No. 8, Akron at No. 15 and Toledo at No. 17.
The quarterly index looks at a variety of factors, from page views of listings to the number of homes for sale and the number of days homes sit on the market before being sold.
Santa Maria is a hot real estate market in California, but many of the cities and metropolitan areas on the list, including the five in Ohio, were in what are considered more affordable places to buy a home.
Hannah Jones, a senior economic research analyst for Realtor.com, said this is likely being driven by the surge in home prices over the last couple of years and the rise in mortgage rates, which has put the cost of homeownership out of reach for many people in various communities.
Home prices kept rising in the top 20 markets, up 11.8% year over year. The study says they were up 1.2% over the year nationally.
Why is Canton No. 3 on Realtor.com's Emerging Housing Markets Index?
Arden Lingenhoel, president of the Stark Trumbull Area Realtors, said the real estate market has remained strong despite his expectations.
“Our real estate market is surprisingly growing here in Canton,” he said. “I thought it was going to decline, but it’s actually doing the opposite, it’s growing.”
Lingenhoel expected Canton’s market to decline because of higher interest rates, but he said rates have started coming down while demand for homes remains high.
“There’s still people coming into the marketplace,” he said.
Job opportunities and the “small-town atmosphere” are part of the draw to Canton, Lingenhoel said.
“You don’t have the big city feel as you do in Cleveland or Cincinnati,” he said. “You have more of a small-town environment.”
Canton is also more affordable.
“There are good opportunities here,” Lingenhoel said. “People see it’s a cheaper place to live.”
How much do homes cost in Ohio's markets?
Here's a look at the median home list prices in each of the five Ohio cities listed, according to the index.
Canton: $230,000.
Springfield: $200,000.
Columbus: $360,000.
Akron: $215,000.
Toledo: $175,000.
“We’re seeing the continued popularity of these low-cost locales,” Jones said. “Despite the fact that these metros have seen prices climb a lot, they’re still relatively affordable.”
Health of Ohio's real estate market
The Ohio Realtors group says home sales in the state totaled 127,016 in 2023 − down 14.9% from the previous year. The average sale price across the state, according to the group, was $272,646 − a 5% increase over the previous year.
“Ohio’s housing market experienced both opportunities and challenges in 2023," said Ohio Realtors President Ali Whitley in a statement. "High interest rates and low inventory slowed sales, while home prices continued to increase.
"We have seen resiliency from Ohio’s homebuyers, showing that consumers value homeownership.”
Top 20 emerging real estate markets in the U.S.
Santa Maria, California ($1,795,000 median home list price).
Jefferson City, Missouri ($302,000).
Canton, Ohio ($230,000).
Racine, Wisconsin ($334,000).
Oshkosh, Wisconsin ($295,000).
Springfield, Ohio ($200,000).
Lafayette, Indiana ($310,000).
Columbus, Ohio ($360,000).
Johnson City, Tennessee ($370,000).
Fort Wayne, Indiana ($300,000).
Concord, New Hampshire ($575,000).
Elkhart, Indiana ($260,000).
Rockford, Illinois ($200,000).
Kingsport, Tennessee ($319,000).
Akron, Ohio ($215,000).
Topeka, Kansas ($227,000).
Toledo, Ohio ($175,000).
Portland, Maine ($600,000).
Manchester, New Hampshire ($550,000).
Reading, Pennsylvania ($317,000).
Includes reporting by Canton Repository staff writer Grace Springer.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Canton is the No. 3 city for emerging real-estate market in the U.S.
