Home Values Have Increased By 354% in One City — and It’s Not in California or New York

Real estate has long been touted as one of the best long-term investments — but buying in certain areas can be extra lucrative.

Among 400 cities ranked by average home price growth since 1998, Austin is at No. 1; its home values have skyrocketed 354% over the past 25 years while those in other metro areas have risen an average of 154% from the first quarter of 1998 through the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a recent SmartAsset survey reported by CNBC Make It.

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The population in the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metro area has nearly doubled over the past several decades, per the survey. People are drawn to the area’s lower cost of living, more-favorable tax laws and, in some cases, rising status as a tech hub.

In 2021, the city was especially popular with startup founders and venture capitalists, TechCrunch reported. The latter invested more than $5.5 billion across 412 deals in 2021, more than double the amount of capital invested in 2020, according to Pitchbook Data.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the rest of the top 15 markets ranked by price growth are predominantly in large coastal cities in California and Florida, per the survey.

Related: 8 Proven Ways to Make Money in Real Estate | Entrepreneur

But markets in Bend, Oregon; Boise and Coeur d’Alene Idaho; and Seattle, Washington also made the top 10.