As I dive back into the 2024 market for real estate, I wanted to start with reviewing the Uhaul Top Growth Cities for 2023. Based on the number of one-way trips that U-Haul, a large provider of moving services, collects from its customer base, this report is a strong indicator of market demand. As a resident and investor in Melbourne, FL I found something very interesting.

Top U.S. Market 2023

Expecting for the top markets to be outside of my local area, I was oddly surprised to find that number one on the list is Palm Bay/Melbourne Florida. In the Palm Bay/Melbourne market, 54% of Uhaul were arriving compared to 45% departing in 2023. Check out what the article says about the market.

“Growth in the Palm Bay-Melbourne area has been increasing at an explosive rate,” stated Cal Conner, U-Haul Company of Eastern Florida president. “The Space Coast has many companies investing in this region and creating jobs such as Embraer^®, SpaceX^®, Northrop Grumman^®, Lockheed Martin^®and L3Harris Technologies^®. We have a low cost of living compared to many of the northern cities people have left. Add to that our fantastic year-round climate, and you can see why Palm Bay-Melbourne is such a desirable area to live.”

Let The Data Help Drive Decisions

As real estate investors, we ideally want to invest in our back yards. But this is not always possible. For some, your local market is overpriced or not in high demand. To get the best results, you may need to be willing to invest out of state or your area. For some like me, you may pleasantly informed that your local market is in high demand with strong future prospects.

Do more research than referencing this data alone, but certainly benefit from this report as a starting point for more markets to investigate. Below is the full list of top US Growth Cities based on the Uhaul data. You will see that Florida cities frequent the list. More to come on this analysis.

2023 Top US Growth Cities

1.	PALM BAY-MELBOURNE, FL (4)
2.	OCALA, FL (1)
3.	CHARLESTON-NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (10)
4.	SARASOTA-BRADENTON, FL
5.	AUSTIN, TX
6.	COLLEGE STATION-BRYAN, TX
7.	CHARLOTTE, NC
8.	HUNTSVILLE, AL (9)
9.	DALLAS, TX
10.	MYRTLE BEACH-NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (7)
11.	KISSIMMEE-ST. CLOUD, FL
12.	PANAMA CITY-PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL
13.	NORTH PORT, FL (6)
14.	BOISE, ID
15.	WAKE FOREST, NC
16.	CONROE, TX (19)
17.	KNOXVILLE, TN
18.	SURPRISE, AZ (8)
19.	AUBURN-OPELIKA, AL (5)
20.	LAKELAND, FL (21)
21.	MURFREESBORO, TN
22.	WILMINGTON, NC
23.	QUEEN CREEK, AZ
24.	HENDERSON, NV (17)
25.	NAMPA, ID