money Port St. Lucie ranks 15th in U.S. among Best Real Estate Markets study by WalletHub
Port St. Lucie was one of the best places to buy a home this year, according to a WalletHub study that ranks the city 15th nationwide.
The Best Real-Estate Markets study compared 300 cities, grading them on a 100-point scale for 17 different economic and real estate factors, including housing affordability, median days on market, foreclosure rate and more.
With an overall score of 70.89, Port St. Lucie was the highest-ranking Florida municipality. The city also boasted the 5th best "Affordability and Economic Environment" nationwide, the study found.
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That may surprise Treasure Coast residents, who have watched home prices skyrocket amid the area's unprecedented real estate market.
Although prices have started to stabilize recently, St. Lucie County's median single-family home sale price last year increased 24.1% and has continued to reach record highs this year — peaking at $399,000 in June.
The study acknowledged nationwide housing cost increases. The real estate markets that performed well in this study are good investment opportunities for long-term growth, equity and profit, according to the study.
Florida markets didn't perform quite as well as the Texas cities that dominated the study; Frisco, Allen, McKinney and Austin clinched the top four spots.
Orlando was the second-highest city listed in the study, placing 40th with a score of 64.91. Others in the Top 100 included: Tampa (45), Cape Coral (55), Davie (64), Palm Bay (70), Lakeland (76), Miramar (93), Miami (98), West Palm Beach (99) and St. Petersburg (100).
Catie Wegman is TCPalm's housing and real estate reporter. You can keep up with Catie on Twitter @Catie_Wegman, on Facebook @catiewegman1 and email her catie.wegman@tcpalm.com.
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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida real estate: PSL ranked among best places to buy by WalletHub
