Am I investing where the jobs are projected to grow?

[Genise Edwards]

I am a big fan of data analysis (that’s my day job). John Burn’s real estate consulting firm has a warm place in my heart for all of their smart and timely analysis of the real estate market. (I don’t work for them and I don’t receive any money from them to say that…)

I wanted to share an interesting post and charts by Pete Reeb (from John Burns Real Estate Consulting) on projected job growth in 17 cities from 2015-2017. Although they are discussing how California has and will continue to dominate where jobs are growing, it’s always good to look a little further down for those cities on the “come up”.

Now job growth is just one factor, probably a very important factor, for successful real estate investing (increased rental demand and quick sale of flips), but what do the folks who invest in these areas think about Mr. Reeb's job growth forecast? Other than the cost of real estate in the top few cities (NYC and LA), are there any other draw backs to investing in these cities? I like to look in the cheaper surrounding suburbs for good deals. Take a look at the entire post when you have time. Source: http://realestateconsulting.com/powerhouse-job-markets-california-dominating/

Job growth next 3 years (2015-2017)

Looking forward to Reeb's chart below, Atlanta and Phoenix stick out to me as a places that will see a good deal of job growth while still maintaining reasonable home prices. Note, TX is a bit lower on projected jobs-- perhaps due to falling oil prices. Also, I usually hear good things about Charlotte, NC but I don't see them on this list. What do you all think?  @Thomas Whitehead what about you?

City                                                 (annual?) Projected # of job growth

New York City, NY                            372,000

Los Angeles, CA                              312,000

Chicago, IL                                       280,000

Atlanta, GA                                       262,000

Phoenix, AZ                                     170,000

Boston, MA                                      139,000

Dallas, TX                                        139,000

Orlando, FL                                     130,000

Riverside/SB, CA                             117, 000

Seattle, WA                                      116, 000

Orange Co, CA                                116, 000

San Diego, CA                                 109, 000

Houston,TX                                      102, 000

Denver, CO                                       67, 000

San Francisco, CA                            62, 000

Austin, TX                                          62, 000

San Jose, CA                                    53, 000

Enjoy your day!

Genise