Stronger job markets are pushing several cities’ housing markets into recovery-mode. Forbes and the Local Market Monitor, a real estate research firm, recently profiled its top picks for cities that are most poised for a real estate rebound. The list is based on housing and economic data from the 100 largest cities in the country. 

“For real estate to do well you want to see two things: that incomes are growing rapidly … and that the growth in jobs attracts other people to that market,” Ingo Winzer, founder and president of Local Market Monitor, told Forbes.

Here are the cities topping the list:

1. San Jose, Calif.
Population growth: 5 percent
Job growth: 3.3 percent
Home prices for the past 12 months: 2 percent decrease
New-home construction: 97 percent increase

2. Houston, Texas
Population growth: 7 percent
Job growth: 3 percent
Home prices for the past 12 months: 2 percent decrease
New-home construction: 38 percent increase

3. Boston, Mass.
Population growth: 3 percent
Job growth: 2.1 percent
Home prices for the past 12 months: 1 percent decrease
New-home construction: 1 percent increase

4. Raleigh, N.C.
Population growth: 12 percent
Job growth: 1.4 percent
Home prices for the past 12 months: 2 percent decrease
New-home construction: 14 percent increase

5. Austin, Texas
Population growth: 11 percent
Job growth: 1.5  percent
Home prices for the past 12 months: 2 percent decrease
New-home construction: 20 percent increase

6. Oklahoma City, Okla.
Population growth: 4 percent
Job growth: 2.6%
Home prices for the past 12 months: 3 percent decrease
New-home construction: 1 percent decrease
Find out more about why these cities are poised for a rebound, and see what other cities made the list. 

Source: “Cities Where Real Estate Is Ripe for a Rebound,” Forbes (January 2012)

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