The cities that have the best outlook for job growth in America also have some pretty hot housing markets. Forbes recently unveiled the best cities for jobs this spring, but we wanted to see what was happening in their respective real estate markets (in case you're moving there for work). It's no surprise that if a local market has strong job numbers, housing is bound to be doing just as well. But you may be surprised at just how well these cities are doing. Click through the gallery below to see what happening in housing in the top 10 cities for jobs.
- <p> <strong>Net employment outlook for 2013:</strong> 23%<br /> <br /> If there's a place that proves the darkest days of the housing crash are behind us, it would be <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/San-Jose_CA">San Jose</a>. Median single-family home prices there have posted double-digit gains on a year-over-year bases for every month in the last six months, according to the <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_22790008/bay-area-home-prices-hold-steady-february" target="_blank">San Jose Mercury News</a>. Home values are also on the rise, and many homeowners are moving from red to green in home equity. More than 56,826 homes went from being underwater to above water in 2012, the Mercury News <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_22632190/rising-home-values-push-more-bay-area-homes" target="_blank">reported</a>.<br /> <br /> According to Trulia, the median sales price of San Jose homes was $480,000 from December to February -- a 28% rise from the same period a year earlier.<br /> <br /> <strong>Find <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/San-Jose_CA">homes for sale in San Jose, Calif.</a>, or <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/blog/homes-for-sale/">search listings in your area</a>.</strong><br /> <br /> Photo: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_san_jose_south_market_st.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></p>
- <p> <strong>Net employment outlook for 2013:</strong> 23%<br /> <br /> Home sales in Maine have been on a steep incline, with the number of single-family home sales jumping 21 percent in January from a year prior, according to the <a href="http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine-realtors-see-uptick-in-home-sales-prices.html" target="_blank">Portland Press Herald</a>. That could be because the <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Portland_ME">Portland</a> area is enticing people of all ages to move there. Forbes named Portland one of the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/morganbrennan/2011/07/12/americas-best-cities-for-young-professionals/" target="_blank">best cities for young professionals</a> in 2011, citing its reasonable cost of living and low unemployment rate. And the magazine just recently named nearby <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Bangor_ME">Bangor</a> one of the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampbarrett/2013/02/25/the-best-places-to-retire-in-2013/" target="_blank">best cities to retire in 2013</a>.<br /> <br /> <strong>Find <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Portland_ME">homes for sale in Portland, Maine</a>, or <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/blog/homes-for-sale/">search listings in your area</a>.</strong><br /> <br /> Photo: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Exchange_Street.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></p>
- <p> <strong>Net employment outlook for 2013:</strong> 22%<br /> <br /> Surprisingly, <a href="http://trends.truliablog.com/2013/02/trulia-price-rent-monitors-jan-2013/" target="_blank">Trulia's Price Monitor</a> marked <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Salt-Lake-City_UT">Salt Lake City</a> as one of the nation's most booming housing markets in February. Year-over-year asking prices in the city jumped 17 percent in January, and because job growth is strong, homeowners are less likely to fall into foreclosure and infect the local housing market.<br /> <br /> <strong>Find <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Salt-Lake-City_UT">homes for sale in Salt Lake City</a>, or <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/blog/homes-for-sale/">search listings in your area</a>.</strong><br /> <br /> Photo: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Salt-Lake-City.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></p>
- <p> <strong>Net employment outlook for 2013:</strong> 22%<br /> <br /> The median sales price of homes in <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Tucson_AZ">Tucson</a> was $149,000 in February, a whopping 19 percent hike from the same period a year earlier, according to the <a href="http://azstarnet.com/business/local/tucson-s-housing-market-and-other-arizona-news/article_7fe153b4-d1f7-596d-88b6-98dda09614e4.html" target="_blank">Arizona Daily Star</a>. Another bit of good news is that the city also logged the lowest number of monthly foreclosures than during any month since March 2008. But a word of caution: Cash sales made up 40 percent of transactions in February. That indicates that investors are still driving a large chunk of the home buying action in Tucson, which could undermine its recovery if first-time homebuyers don't jump in the game.<br /> <br /> <strong>Find <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Tucson_AZ">homes for sale in Tucson, Ariz.</a>, or <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/blog/homes-for-sale/">search listings in your area</a>.</strong><br /> <br /> Photo: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tucson_shab1.JPG" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></p>
- <p> <strong>Net employment outlook for 2013:</strong> 21%<br /> <br /> Homebuyers are clearly flocking to <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Des-Moines_IA">Des Moines</a>. Home sales there spiked 32 percent in January from a year earlier -- making it the best January performance in five years, the <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130215/BUSINESS/302150092/-1/MARKETPLACE/Housing-markets-Des-Moines-Iowa-show-solid-gains" target="_blank">Des Moines Register</a> reported. The January median home sales price of $143,000 was a 13 percent hike from the same period in 2012, and pending home sales were up 16 percent. Not a lot of bad news there!<br /> <br /> <strong>Find <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Des-Moines_IA">homes for sale in Des Moines, Iowa</a>, or <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/blog/homes-for-sale/">search listings in your area</a>.</strong><br /> <br /> Photo: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:View_from_the_Pappajohn_Sculpture_Park.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></p>
- <p> <strong>Net employment outlook for 2013:</strong> 21%<br /> <br /> Here's the thing about <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Poughkeepsie_NY">Poughkeepsie</a>: Home prices have remained fairly stagnant for quite some time. But a growing job market could change all that. For now, prices have been at a virtual standstill since 2009 -- but local Realtors say that, at the very least, that means that they're stable, the <a href="http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20130224/BUSINESS/302240048/Housing-market-prices-standstill-region" target="_blank">Poughkeepsie Journal</a> reported. What may help is a rental market so unaffordable that many people could be pushed into buying a home where the monthly mortgage payment is more affordable. According to the <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Photos-Least-affordable-cities-for-renting-4348003.php#photo-1065027" target="_blank">Times Union</a>, Poughkeepsie ranks as the 20th least affordable city in the U.S. for renting.<br /> <br /> <strong>Find <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Poughkeepsie_NY" target="_blank">homes for sale in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.</a>, or <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/blog/homes-for-sale/">search listings in your area</a>.</strong><br /> <br /> Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uticayanks820/6998981167/" target="_blank">Flickr/ExiledOnMainSt.</a></p>
- <p> <strong>Net employment outlook for 2013:</strong> 21%<br /> <br /> <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Richmond_VA">Richmond</a>'s housing market is on a slow and steady track of improvement. Home sales have taken a recent dramatic upturn, and home values have begun to appreciate for the first time in five years, local Realtors told <a href="http://www.richmondmagazine.com/?articleID=691a324b07be459a7f0bdff1a5317cd3" target="_blank">Richmond Magazine</a>. But new construction is down, and housing supply may be too small. Still, an increase in job growth and population is bound to spur new developments and a rush for new homes.<br /> <br /> <strong>Find <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Richmond_VA">homes for sale in Richmond, Va.</a>, or <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/blog/homes-for-sale/">search listings in your area</a>.</strong><br /> <br /> Photo: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:City_of_Richmond_Business_District.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></p>
- <p> <strong>Net employment outlook for 2013:</strong> 20%<br /> <br /> Minnesota's housing market in general is doing gangbusters, with home prices at their highest level since 2008 and for-sale inventory at its lowest in a decade, according to <a href="http://kstp.com/news/stories/S2957360.shtml?cat=1" target="_blank">KTSP-TV</a> in <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Minneapolis_MN">Minneapolis</a>. Local Realtors say the time it takes for homes to sell is growing short and shorter, and sellers are nabbing offers that are coming closer to list prices. According to <a href="http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2013/03/01/housing-data-shows-buyer-activity-40-percent-–-minneapolis" target="_blank">Virtual-Strategy magazine</a>, homebuyer activity in Minneapolis was up 40 percent in January from a year prior.<br /> <br /> <strong>Find <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Minneapolis_MN">homes for sale in Minneapolis</a>, or <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/blog/homes-for-sale/">search listings in your area</a>.</strong><br /> <br /> Photo: <a href="http://Flickr/adamsfelt http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamsfelt/2503376955/" target="_blank">Flickr/adamsfelt</a></p>
- <p> <strong>Net employment outlook for 2013:</strong> 19%<br /> <br /> <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Bakersfield_CA">Bakersfield</a> ranks among the <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/here-are-us-metro-areas-saw-biggest-rises-home-prices-last-year-bismarck-north-dakota-topped-them" target="_blank">top 10 cities that saw the biggest rise in home prices</a> in 2012, recording a 6.1 percent rise over the course of the year. The local market has heated up so much that experts have questioned whether Bakerisfield is in another bona fide housing bubble. That's not a good thing: The bubble is being driven by investors buying foreclosed homes to fix up and rent out, according to <a href="http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/business/real-estate/x837006833/Report-raises-concerns-about-investor-driven-housing-bubble" target="_blank">The Bakersfield Californian</a>. That indicates that homes aren't becoming any more attainable for everyday hoembuyers.<br /> <br /> <strong>Find <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Bakersfield_CA">homes for sale in Bakersfield, Calif.</a>, or <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/blog/homes-for-sale/">search listings in your area</a>.</strong><br /> <br /> Photo: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DowntownBakersfield.jpg" target="_blank">Wikmedia Commons</a></p>
- <p> <strong>Net employment outlook for 2013:</strong> 19%<br /> <br /> <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Houston_TX">Houston</a> doesn't have any problem getting people to move there. Forbes ranked it the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/morganbrennan/2012/07/26/houston-tops-our-list-of-americas-coolest-cities-to-live/" target="_blank">coolest city to live in</a> and the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/morganbrennan/2013/01/23/americas-fastest-growing-cities/" target="_blank">No. 2 fastest-growing city in America</a>. With so many new residents moving to the city, home sales jumped 16 percent over the course of 2012, and based on recent home buying activity, it would only take 3.7 months to sell everything on the market, according to the <a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Houston-housing-market-continues-its-rise-4196988.php" target="_blank">Houston Chronicle</a>.<br /> <br /> <strong>Find <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/homes-for-sale-listings/Houston_TX">homes for sale in Houston</a>, or <a href="http://realestate.aol.com/blog/homes-for-sale/">search listings in your area</a>.</strong><br /> <br /> Photo: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Discovery_green.JPG" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></p>
