10 resi markets with a boom on the horizon

A handful of markets are primed to boom thanks to the combination of strong economic growth and a nationwide shortage of housing construction.

Identified through a data analysis by Local Market Monitor, the top 10 markets ranked most likely to experience a boom are already seeing home prices rise, but the key indicator is how those increases compare to the prices local incomes would typically dictate. Once that figure reaches 15 percent or higher, a boom becomes more and more likely, according to analysts.

What qualifies as a boom? Forbes contributor and Local Market Monitor president Ingo Wizner defines a boom as prices increasing between 10 to 15 percent per year. Wizner recommends investors looking to cash in on booms buy single-family homes, which can be flipped more easily than multifamily buildings, and that investors prepare to sell before the market peaks in order to ensure a slow sale doesn’t scuttle returns when the boom ends.

Here’s a look at the 10 housing markets the analysis predicts will boom in the next three years, starting with the city Wizner says is already booming, Denver, CO. [Forbes]—Erin Hudson

1. Denver