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Forget New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Most Americans have probably never heard of the nation’s fastest-growing city.
The population of Buckeye, AZ, a friendly Phoenix suburb, shot up 8.5% from from July 1, 2017, through July 1, 2018, according to recently released U.S. Census Bureau report. Only cities with at least 50,000 residents were included.
“Buckeye is one of the fastest-growing cities because it’s on the outskirts of Phoenix,” says Realtor® Danny Gamboa of Home Buddy in Scottsdale, AZ. He lives in Buckeye, which is west of Phoenix, and sells homes there. “The only way to grow is west.”
His clients come from all over, particularly Seattle, Chicago, the Midwest, and Canada. They range from young families seeking some of the good schools in the area to retirees who want to live someplace warm where their money will stretch.
One of Buckeye’s biggest draws is the city’s inexpensive housing market. The median home price in Buckeye is $238,310, according to realtor.com® data. That’s about 30% below the national median home price of $310,000. It’s also about 13.25% less than in Phoenix, where median prices are $269,890.
Plus, there are plenty of new single-family homes going up on what used to be farmland. But prices are rising.
“It is a seller’s market,” says Gamboa. He sold a three-bedroom house in the city five years ago for $77,000. This year it was resold for $180,000.
That doesn’t mean the city, which has a historic downtown filled with mom-and-pop shops, is losing its charm.
“Pretty much everybody knows everybody, and that’s what makes it unique,” Gamboa says.
Nationally, smaller cities in the South and West attracted the most new residents. These metros tended to be more affordable, although not all were. Half of the Top 10 were in Texas.
The second fastest-growing city with a population of 50,000 or more residents was New Braunfels, TX, about 30 minutes northeast of San Antonio. The median home price in New Braunfels is about $255,000, according to realtor.com data.
Rounding out the top 10 were Apex, NC (median home price $409,000); Frisco, TX, ($440,000); Meridian, ID ($335,000); McKinney, TX ($359,000); Georgetown, TX ($311,000); Rowlett, TX ($270,000); St. Cloud, FL ($250,000); and Ankeny, IA ($253,000).
With the population of Texas booming, it’s no surprise that the state had the most newly constructed housing units in the nation, according to the Census report. The Lone Star State gained 172,000 units. It was followed by retiree favorite Florida, at 108,000; California, at 104,000; and North Carolina, at 63,000.
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