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Takeaways:
- WalletHub examined 10 metrics in 25 markets to ascertain market health.
- Boston was the healthiest housing market; Oklahoma City, San Antonio, northern New Jersey and Hartford, Connecticut, were also healthy.
- Las Vegas was the least healthy; other unhealthy markets include Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida; Orlando; Tucson, Arizona; and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
The 10 healthiest housing markets in the U.S. are mainly located in Texas and the Northeast.
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Topping the list of healthiest markets is Boston, followed by Oklahoma City, San Antonio, northern New Jersey and Hartford, Connecticut, according to a recent WalletHub report.
Austin, New York City, Rochester (New York), Philadelphia and Houston comprised the list of fifth to 10th healthiest housing markets.
To determine the “health” of 25 large metros, WalletHub examined 10 metrics:
- Equity levels
- Underwater mortgages
- “Precarious” mortgages
- Down payment percentages
- Remaining time until financial freedom
- Mortgage costs
- “Easy” mortgages
- First-time homebuyer assistance
- Access to financing
Boston, the nation’s healthiest market, has the smallest percentage of easy mortgages (9.25 percent), the lowest mortgage cost (4.23 percent) and the lowest percentage of precarious mortgages (5.46 percent) — which are defined as those having between zero and 10 percent equity.
The market boasts the second-highest equity level (43 percent) — equity as a percentage of a home’s value. New York City ranked at the top when it came to equity level at 47 percent.
Beantown also has the second-lowest percentage of underwater mortgages (6.67 percent), only outdone by Rochester (6.13 percent), and it is one of the best markets in terms of access to home equity lines of credit.
Of the 25 markets examined, Las Vegas was cited as the unhealthiest metro for housing. Other unhealthy markets include Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida; Orlando; Tucson, Arizona; and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Sin City is the worst-performing market when it comes to equity level and underwater mortgages. Equity as a percentage of a home’s value sat at 12 percent in Las Vegas. Of all mortgages, 38.5 percent are underwater in the market.
Las Vegas also has one of the highest percentages of “easy” mortgages at nearly 16.8 percent and is a difficult market in which to obtain access to home equity lines of credit.
Tampa and Orlando have the highest percentage of easy mortgages, at 24 percent and 20.5 percent, respectively. Orlando is one of the worst-performing markets when it comes to equity level (21 percent), percentage of underwater mortgages (32.2 percent) and access to lump-sum home equity loans.
