We’re kicking off the year with some exciting news for our city– this week, Business Insider reported that Lakeland is the number one city to buy a home in 2019.
Stemming from new data by Realtor.com, the list was created after analyzing the housing markets across the US, considering the health of new home construction, job growth, public school ratings and the number of millennials moving in.
Lakeland’s top ranking is followed by cities such as Boston, Chattanooga + Las Vegas– so the best places to buy a home aren’t always necessarily the cheapest. Although, with a median home price hovering around $161k, Lakeland provides more cost-effective options than both neighboring Tampa ($261,362) + Orlando ($299,950).
To make the final cut, the cities determined best to purchase in are those where wage growth and new-home construction are keeping up with home price increases + stabilizing affordability.
Since our team is still fairly young (somewhere within the millennial range), we went virtual home shopping on Zillow + found our dream homes in Lakeland.