Fort Lauderdale was named a top city in the 2018 Emerging Trends in Real Estate report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). 

Overall, the top contenders in the report are smaller and highly educated with younger residents. Seattle placed first, followed by Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Fort Lauderdale placed sixth, marking the first time the city was in the top 10. These smaller markets have displaced traditional, larger contenders like Manhattan, which fell to 46th place due to high costs and an oversaturation of construction, according to the report. Miami ranked just out of the top 10, taking the 11th spot.

ULI global chief executive officer Patrick L. Phillips said in a press release that the widespread representation of smaller cities in the report, particularly in the top 10, “is setting a new course for urban development.”

Other clear trends from the report include an overall housing shortage — such as the one seen in South Florida— and an increased demand for senior housing. 

The survey was conducted prior to Hurricane Irma, which stalled September sales in Broward County, as well as Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

The full top 10 list is as follows:

  1. Seattle, Washington
  2. Austin, Texas
  3. Salt Lake City, Utah
  4. Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina
  5. Dallas / Ft. Worth, Texas
  6. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  7. Los Angeles, California
  8. San Jose, California
  9. Nashville, Tennessee
  10. Boston, Massachusetts