Real Estate Rumblings

Austin home prices overwhelming predicted to grow in 2020, real estate experts say

Austin home prices are predicted to outperform rest of nation, surprising no one.

Photo courtesy of Metropia

Experts agree: Austin's red-hot housing market will continue in 2020. In a survey conducted by real estate marketplace Zillow and Pulsenomics, industry experts overwhelmingly predicted home values in the Capital City will outperform the rest of the nation this year.

To find the results, Zillow asked 110 U.S. economists and real estate experts to rate 25 American cities based on where they expected home values to grow. Unsurprisingly, Austin ranked No. 1 on a list dominated by cities in Texas and across the South.

Austin scored 76, the highest on the list and 17 points higher than the second-ranked Charlotte, which scored 59. Atlanta, Nashville, and Dallas round out the top five, with scores of 51, 49, and 34, respectively.

Zillow predicts home values to grow by 2.8 percent across the country this year. Based on that number, 83 percents of survey respondents expect Austin home values to outperform that baseline, the largest margin received by any of the cities on the list.

Just 10 percent expect the city's home values to stay the same, and only 7 percent expect them to under-perform — the second lowest city on the list. Charlotte was the only city where no expert polled expected a decline in home prices this year.

Interestingly, home values in the nation's bigger tech hubs — San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles — were all predicted to fall in 2020.

"And panelists didn’t just expect those large California markets to underperform, but maybe still grow slightly — in many cases, they said they expected the typical home values in those places to outright fall, ending 2020 lower than where they began the year," Zillow says in a release. "Panelists, 42 total, who thought at least one major metro would see falling home values in 2020 generally agreed that California markets would make that list."

But this is Texas, so let's focus on that, shall we? Across the state, major cities will continue to see rising home values, Zillow predicts.

Earning that aforementioned score of 34, nearly half of the experts (49 percent) expect Dallas home values to out perform the national average. Thirty-six percent expect them to stay the same as 2019 while just 15 percent expect them to decline.

With its score of 32, San Antonio home values are predicted to be similar to Dallas. Forty-four percent of respondents expect San Antonio home values to outperform the national average while the exact same number expect them to stay the same. Just 12 percent expect the Alamo City to see a decline in home values this year.

Houston ranked the lowest of the Texas cities on the list, earning a score of 10 and just 32 percent of experts predicting that home values will outpace the rest of the country. The majority believe Houston home prices will either pace with the rest of the country (44 percent) or fall behind (22 percent).

zillow reports

small city livin'

5 Austin neighbors lauded as best small cities in America

Explore Pflugerville/explorepf.com

Pflugerville ranked in the 86th percentile of small cities in America.

Living in the big city isn't for everyone, which is why many are flocking to the suburbs and less-populated cities around Austin. To demonstrate the popularity of suburban and rural communities, a new study by WalletHub has identified five Austin suburbs on their 2024 list of the "Best Small Cities in America."

The extensive report compared over 1,300 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 residents based on 45 livability metrics across five main categories: Affordability, economic health, education and health, quality of life, and overall safety. Cities were grouped by percentile, where the 99th percentile encompasses the top one percent of small American cities.

A total 19 U.S. cities all qualified in the top 99th percentile of best small cities in America, but the top three that stood out above the rest were Carmel, Indiana; Brookfield, Wisconsin; and Lexington, Massachusetts.

Leading the pack as the best small city in the Austin area is Leander, which is just 25 miles northwest of downtown Austin. The suburb ranked in the 97th percentile and had the No. 2 best "economic health" rank out of all U.S. cities in the report. Leander also earned a No. 49 rank in the national "affordability" category.

According to the city's website, Leander has a population of more than 72,000 residents. The North Austin suburb has enjoyed some time in the spotlight this year after being crowned one of the most livable small cities earlier in 2024. Plus, Leander's 78641 ZIP code was revealed as one of the hottest housing markets in 2023.

Besides the cost-saving benefits of escaping a big city, there's a lot more to enjoy living in a smaller community like Leander, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

"On top of that, the best small cities offer strong job markets, high-quality education, good health care, safe living conditions, and plenty of local flair to help you achieve a high quality of life," Lupo said. "While small cities may lack some advantages of big cities, like robust public transportation systems, they make up for these shortcomings in other areas."

The only other Austin-area city to rank in the top 90-99th percentile range was Cedar Park, which ranked 95th. Cedar Park is situated just south of Leander, 20 miles northwest of downtown Austin, and has a population of under 83,000 residents. This safe suburb is a popular choice for Austinites and out-of-towners alike, and it was praised as one of the best Texas cities to move to in March 2024.

exterior of Cedar Park Center Texans love Cedar Park. Courtesy of Cedar Park Center

Other Austin-area cities that appeared in the top 50th percentile of the best small American cities list include Pflugerville (86th), Georgetown (83rd), and Kyle (61st).

The best small cities across the Lone Star State
The highest ranking Texas city in the report is Rockwall, a suburb located less than 24 miles northeast of Dallas. The city appeared in the 97th percentile (the same as Leander) with its highest rankings in the "safety" (No. 61) and "economic health" (No. 91) categories.

Rockwall has a Census-estimated population of just under 53,000 residents as of July 2023. Its consistent growth has planted seeds for some new fan-favorite grocery stores, including a Sprouts Farmers Market, plus new restaurants and sports bars galore.

Two additional Texas cities appeared in the 90-99th percentile range: The Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs of Allen (96th) and Flower Mound (93rd).

The top 10 best small cities in Texas, based on WalletHub's data, are:

97th percentile – Rockwall and Leander (tie)
96th – Allen
95th – Cedar Park
93rd – Flower Mound
89th – New Braunfels
87th – Southlake
86th – Pflugerville
85th – Little Elm
83rd – Georgetown

The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

dallas dallasfort worth suburbs rankings rockwall texas small cities suburbs wallethub