Change can be hard to pin down (and execs sometimes say they are more fond of it than they really are), but a recent study by LendingTree aims to quantify how fast U.S. cities are changing — something it helps property owners and managers to know. Seattle is No. 4 among American communities that have changed the most over the last five years.
LendingTree crunched data from Zillow and AtoZDatabases, examining changes in the cost of homeownership, rents, foreclosure rates, business startups and population diversity. Besides Seattle at No. 4, three other places in the Pacific Northwest, all in Oregon, were among the top five nationwide for change: Bend at No. 1, Salem at No. 2 and Portland at No. 5.
Filling out the top five was Napa, Calif., at No. 3. Both Seattle and Napa experienced major growth in 2016, and while the cost of living and housing in these areas has increased, so have working opportunities, noted the study.
