Dismal Ranking: Cleveland's Housing Market Is...Bad

CLEVELAND — The gem of Northeast Ohio has lost a lot of polish over the years, and now a new study says Cleveland is one of the worst real estate markets in the nation. In a new WalletHub study, Cleveland was rated as the second-worst large city for housing in the U.S.

The personal finance website ranked the markets in 300 U.S. cities based on 22 real estate and economic factors, such as foreclosure and unemployment rates.

Cleveland was the 62nd worst big-city for real estate (out of 63, behind only Detroit), and 294th out of 300 markets. Clevelanders are waiting an average of 211 days to sell their house, see mostly negative home equity, a high foreclosure rate, and a snail's crawl for population growth. Those are bad signs.

Throw in the city's microscopic job growth rate (292 out of 300), and staggeringly high number of delinquent mortgage holders (254 out of 300), and the city's housing market looks...bad. Heck, Cleveland had the second highest maintenance costs as a percentage of income. Only Flint, Michigan (with its disastrous water system) had higher maintenance costs for its residents.

Cleveland ranked well-below average in seven key categories tracked by WalletHub. Take a look, and keep in mind that 150 is considered "average" and 1 is considered the best possible rating.

• 267th – % of Homes with Negative Equity
• 211th – Avg. Days Until Sale
• 292nd – Job Growth Rate
• 274th – Foreclosure Rate
• 254th – % of Delinquent Mortgage Holders
• 281st – Number of Unsold Homes Owned by Banks (REOs)
• 298th – Population Growth Rate

This report comes amid a controversial property reevaluation that saw Cuyahoga County's average home value increase 10.8 percent. Residents are worried their taxes will now outpace their financial means.

The title of the nation's best real estate market belongs to Frisco, Texas, which has a much smaller population of about 177,000, according to U.S. Census data.

Here's a look at the nation's 10 best and 10 worst large real estate markets, according to WalletHub. See the full study here.

10 Best Large Real Estate Markets
1. Seattle, Washington
2. Denver, Colorado
3. Fort Worth, Texas
4. Aurora, Colordao
5. Colorado Springs, Colorado
6. Nashville, Tennessee
7. Charlotte, North Carolina
8. Austin, Texas
9. San Jose, California
10. Lexington, Kentucy

10 Worst Large Real Estate Markets
63. Detroit, Michigan
62. Cleveland, Ohio
61. New York City, New York
60. Corpus Christi, Texas
59. Chicago, Illinois
58. Baltimore, Maryland
57. Tulsa, Oklahoma
56. Miami, Florida
55. St. Louis, Missouri
54. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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