The real estate market in Boston this year has been fruitful, and 2018 will be even better, according to a recent report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute. Boston ranks No. 10 in this year’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate outlook, up from No. 12 last year.
Survey respondents noted a positive sentiment for Boston’s multifamily, industrial and single-family markets, as well as its overall local economy, investor demand and capital availability — which is expected to be near an all-time high in 2018.
Report results also show that experts expect Boston to have a population gain of 11,000 people ages 15 to 34 in 2018. Much of that is expected to be highly educated millennials, many of whom will seek to buy homes. Emerging Trends in Real Estate shows that 20.8 percent of Boston’s population have graduate or professional degrees, and 8.3 percent of the population are employed in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.
A number of other features landed Boston in the PwC/ULI report, including a top cultural market; a park within walking distance for 98 percent of the city’s population; a large share of green buildings; a culinary market ranked in the country’s second quintile.
Positivity abounds
The 2018 report, the 39th annual from PwC/ULI, uses a combination of surveys, interviews and focus groups to measure 78 markets around the country. The report showed overall positivity around the entire country.
The nationwide real estate market will be dominated by three key characteristics next year, according to the report. First is a housing shortage caused by baby boomers staying in their home longer and a surge in younger generations who seek to buy homes. Homebuilders and agents seeking to succeed in selling to millennials and members of generation Z should look to smaller and more energy-efficient homes, townhouses, condos and more affordable starter homes, according to PwC.
The home shortage leads to another huge trend in 2018: multifamily housing. This segment will remain a successful investment next year as younger homebuyers unable to find homes will turn to more affordable rental units.
Finally, the demand for senior housing is expected to gain steam in 2018. Not only are they staying in their own homes for longer, rather than moving to assisted living homes, but the senior population is expected to grow by 25 million over the next 15 years.
The overall top 10 city rankings in the Emerging Trends Real Estate outlook include:
- Seattle
- Austin, Texas
- Salt Lake City
- Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina
- Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Los Angeles
- San Jose, California
- Nashville
- Boston