REVEALED: The Midwestern city where Americans can still make a killing on property after prices surged 52% in a year, with plentiful skilled jobs, cute streets and lush greenery fueling country's hottest property market
- A lively Midwestern city has been named the country's top real-estate market
- The city was previously the mortgage capital of America
- It now has a bustling cultural scene, affordable housing and plenty of jobs
A wholesome Midwestern city has become the country's hottest real-estate market because of its premium location, job market and booming culture.
Rockford in Illinois lies just 90 miles from Chicago and Milwaukee and is expecting a direct train line to the Windy City in just a few years.
Last year property prices there surged by an astonishing 51.7 percent in 12 months, according to new Realtor.com data. The median house price in Rockland sits at $233,000 and it's still possible to buy a desirable property there that will likely appreciate considerably in value.
This is the largest gain of any metro area in the ranking's top 20.
Rockford has attracted home buyers in recent years because of the affordable houses, growing healthcare, aerospace and logistics industries - as well as the lively community.
Entrepreneurs and aspiring business-owners have flocked to the city to take advantage of the convenient location and cheaper property prices - which helped Rockford emerge from the 2008/2009 financial crisis.
Back then, it was better known for being America's number one 'underwater' mortgage hotspot - where a third of homes were worth less than the mortgages taken out on them.
It isn't all good news though - Rockford has a higher than average crime rate for both property and violent crimes, with the statistics sitting well above the national average.
Rockford in Illinois has been named the United States' hottest property market, with prices rising 51.7% in a year. The city's beautiful East Rockford Historic District is pictured
Another snap of East Rockford. The historic buildings are now home to a glut of mom-and-pop stores, with the Illinois city also home to multiple prestige companies that offer highly-skilled jobs
A wholesome Midwestern city that was once the mortgage capital of America has become the country's top real-estate market because of its premium location, job market and booming culture
Rockford, Illinois, has attracted home buyers in recent years because of the affordable houses, growing healthcare, aerospace and logistics industries - as well as the lively community
The median listing price of a home in the Rockford metro area jumped up to $235,000 in March - a staggering 51.7 percent increase compared with just one year ago. This is the largest gain of any metro area in the ranking's top 20. The Rockford home pictured was listed for $199k
'We are also seeing a huge boom in entrepreneurs who are from here and opening things such as retail stores, small manufacturing companies, gift shops, restaurants and bars,' Thomas McNamara, the city's mayor, told The WSJ. 'Which is what we need. It's what our community was like in its heyday.'
That influx of mom-and-pop shops and restaurants has added further to Rockford's desirability and created a 'virtuous cycle' whereby newcomers help improve local services, thus enticing even more people to come and join them.
Rockford is one of the 11 Midwestern metro areas that dominated the top 20 rankings.
Americans are attracted with the Midwest because of its relatively affordable properties, especially as house prices elsewhere in the U.S. soar.
The Midwest is also less vulnerable to natural disasters with surveys showing that wildfires, tornadoes, floods and hurricanes are all growing concerns for home-buyers.
'Areas in the Midwest tend to be less impacted by these risks, giving buyers some peace of mind when taking on a home purchase,' said Hannah Jones, a senior economic analyst for Realtor.com.
The Coronado Theatre was reopened in 2001 - after an 18-month-long multi-million dollar renovation and expansion
In an effort to reverse the urban downfall of downtown Rockford which kicked off during the 1960s, during the 2000s the city threw millions of dollars at local cultural sites to kickstart the economy and make the city lively again
Of the top four cities in the rankings, all of which in the Midwest, three of them had median home price listings of below $250,000.
This is far cheaper than the national median listing house price of $424,900.
Rockford is a city that has a lot to offer. There is nature, history, art, markets and lively restaurants and bars.
It was previously known as 'Screw City' because it manufactured billions of screws, bolts and fasteners in its factories which were supplied globally.
While the city has maintained its manufacturing industry and still offers factory jobs - new industries have merged on the scene, with the healthcare sector accounting for thousands of jobs.
From 2014 to 2018 - the unemployment rate in Rockford fell from 12.9 percent to 4.4 percent. It is currently at 6.8 percent, but is trending downwards.
Major industries include aerospace, automotive logistics healthcare and advanced manufacturing.
Rockford is a city that has a lot to offer. There is nature, history, art, markets and lively restaurants and bars
Rockford is home to the stunningly beautiful Anderson Japanese Gardens - a 12-acre stretch of nature. It also has 7,000 acres of parkland and numerous public gardens
The culturally-dense city has also been nicknamed 'River City' because of its location just to the east of the Mississippi River. It also lies just west of Lake Michigan.
Rockford is home to the stunningly beautiful Anderson Japanese Gardens - a 12-acre stretch of nature. It also has 7,000 acres of parkland and numerous public gardens.
The Rockford City Market is a continuously growing hotspot for visitors and locals. The popular outdoor market that takes place every Friday from May to October showcases small businesses and local food vendors. Along with food trucks and beer tents, there is live music and activities for all ages.
In an effort to reverse the urban downfall of downtown Rockford which kicked off during the 1960s, during the 2000s the city threw millions of dollars at local cultural sites to kickstart the economy and make the city lively again.
The Coronado Theatre was reopened in 2001 - after an 18-month-long multi-million dollar renovation and expansion. It now hosts big-name stars, with locals flocking to appreciate the talent that stops by.
In 2008, the MetroCentre downtown arena completed a $20 million renovation was was renamed the BMO Harris Bank Center in 2011.
The population has barely changed since 2020 - when there were approximately 337,000 residents.
A shortage of available listings are driving the housing market.
Mackenzie McNally and her partner, Kyle Speck, both 30 years old, began searching for a home in Rockford a year ago. Over the course of a year, the pair made 14 offers and all of them were rejected. In April, they closed the deal on a roughly 1,000-square-foot home for $187,000 in Rockford's Machesney Park neighborhood
Mackenzie McNally and her partner, Kyle Speck, both 30 years old, began searching for a home in Rockford a year ago. Over the course of a year, the pair made 14 offers and all of them were rejected.
In April, they closed the deal on a roughly 1,000-square-foot home for $187,000 in Rockford's Machesney Park neighborhood.
'Every house we had bid on we were either losing to all-cash offers or being overbid by $5,000 to $15,000,' McNally said. 'The house we got didn't even go to market.'
Many Rockford homeowners are unwilling to list their houses and re-enter the buyer's market a time of rising interest rates, local real-estate agent Ryan Petry revealed.
While a normal market in the Rockford metro area has about 1,000 homes for sale - in March there were only 230 active listings, according to local real-estate agent Dianne Parvin.
