Flint ranked among top 10 best places to buy a home in the U.S.
Flint, Michigan, is among the Midwest cities featured in a new quarterly ranking of best places to buy a home in the United States.
The Spring 2026 Wall Street Journal / Realtor.com Housing Market Ranking report, issued on Friday, indicates a housing market that shows signs of more homes going on the market as compared to early 2025, with mortgage rates briefly posting under 6% for the first time since 2022. The report also looks into why buyers might prefer one metro area over another.
"Buyers navigating rising rates and economic uncertainty are making increasingly deliberate decisions about where their dollar goes furthest, not just in price, but in stability, livability, and long-term value," the researchers said.
Economic quality of life indicators that were part of the formula include unemployment, wages, small businesses and commute time.
"In this environment, metros that combine relative affordability with steady demand, improving supply conditions, and strong quality-of-life fundamentals are emerging as standouts," the researchers said.
Climate is also a consideration, the researchers said, as the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions are less at risk of hurricanes, flooding and wildfires that have increased property insurance costs and sometimes affected property values in other parts of the country.
There is also a "strong sense of local identity" in this year's top 10 list, especially in communities that are major college towns or where the health care industry is a major workforce.
Within that context, the study lists the following metro areas, in order of 1 to 10, as places "best positioned to deliver" on stability, livability and long-term value in spring 2026.
The researchers said this is the first year that Flint has been ranked that high in their annual study.
- South Bend and Mishawaka, Indiana.
- Appleton, Wisconsin.
- Canton-Massillon, Ohio.
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
- Springfield, Massachusetts.
- Akron, Ohio.
- Manchester-Nashua, New Hampshire.
- Lynchburg, Virginia.
- Hagerstown, Maryland, and Martinsburg, West Virginia.
- Flint, Michigan.
Further down the list, the Lansing and East Lansing metro area is ranked number 13, while the Kalamazoo and Portage metro area is ranked number 18.
"These are not boomtowns," Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones said about the top rankings. "Most of these markets peaked industrially sometime in the mid-20th century and have spent the years since quietly rebuilding around healthcare, education, and manufacturing, industries that proved resilient through the [COVID-19] pandemic and have continued to attract workers priced out of larger metros."
