Anyone who's been paying attention knows downtown has been the primary driver in local real estate the past few years. A new report by Realtor.com confirms what we already know: the Loop is one of the hottest "boom towns" in the country.

The study identified projected measures in new home construction, job growth and household formation by ZIP code to construct its list. The Loop landed ninth on the list thanks to its healthy multifamily construction pipeline, and a growing number of companies either moving from the suburbs to downtown or opening a downtown office while maintaining a suburban presence.

Realtor.com's study predicts the population within the 60603 ZIP code (which encompasses most of the Loop) will grow by 18.9% over the next five years. That jibes with growth trends and predictions by developers like Fifield Cos' Steve Fifield (with wife Randy) who believes another 100,000 residents will move downtown in the next decade.

With 6,000 new housing starts and over 38,000 more jobs forecast for Cook County this year, Realtor.com says this translates to 1.4 times more new homes and 4.2 times more jobs than the average of the top 100 counties in the country. Gilbert, AZ, was the top boom town in the survey, followed by Los Angeles and Dallas.