10 Small- and Mid-Sized Housing Markets That Buyers Should Keep an Eye on

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says that about 5.6 million homes were sold across America in April at a median price of $391,200. That's up nearly 15% from this point last year.

While there are plenty of signs that price growth is slowing, it can still be tough to find a good deal for either investing or living or both, especially in our nation's hottest, largest, and most expensive markets.

Here, we put together a list of 10 medium and small markets that, each for its own reason, look poised for steady growth in the years ahead.

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Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) plans to invest $20 billion to build its first new chip factories in some 40 years. The new factories should transform this semi-rural area just beyond the far-northeast suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, into a very hot housing market. Initial plans are for 3,000 workers earning an average of $135,000 a year.

Licking County used to be home to Longaberger Baskets. There'll be a lot bigger eggs hatching around there now, with production expected to begin as soon as 2025. Realtor.com pegs the median home price in Licking County at about $250,000.

ALSO READ: How to Make Money in Real Estate

Chester County is a primarily rural county south of the Charlotte, North Carolina, suburbs. The growth the Queen City has experienced for the past couple of decades is finally reaching this area that has seen hard times since the collapse of the domestic textiles industry.

E&J Gallo Winery is opening its first East Coast center there soon, and a Giti Tire production plant is already up and running. The first new housing subdivisions in years also are popping up. The median home price here, per Realtor.com, is about $220,000 and growing fast.

About 30 miles north of downtown Austin is Georgetown, known for its picturesque town square, its large number of Victorian-era historic buildings, and its growth. Georgetown has been growing rapidly due to its proximity to Austin, one of the hottest markets in the country for job and residential growth.

This exurb is still cheaper than Austin itself -- for now. However, "cheap" is relative, of course. The median home price here is about $500,000, compared to about $640,000 in Austin.

ALSO READ: Why You Should Buy an Investment Property in Austin

Stuart, population 17,000 or so, is in Martin County on the Atlantic Coast in South Florida between Palm Beach and Vero Beach. Stuart itself is known for its sports fishing and riverfront downtown, and nearby are Port St. Lucie and miles of beaches and large swaths of parkland and other conserved areas.

Realtor.com pegs the median price in Stuart, itself about 40 miles north of West Palm Beach, at about $380,000.

Grand Rapids is about 80 miles from Lake Michigan and is the largest city in the western part of the Great Lakes State. Located in Kent County, population 650,000, Grand Rapids has about 200,000 residents, a lively cultural scene, several well-regarded small colleges in and near the city itself, and a median home price of about $240,000.

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Yakima is about 60 miles southeast of Mount Rainier in the apples, hops, and wine country of Washington State. The city has about 100,000 residents and is about a two-hour drive from Seattle. The median home price here, according to Realtor.com, is about $330,000.

ALSO READ: Yes, the Housing Market Will Come Back Down. Here’s Why

The median home price in Richmond, Indiana, is about $135,000. This history-rich community of about 35,000 residents sits on Interstate 70 near the Ohio-Indiana border. It's about halfway between Columbus and Indianapolis and is considered part of the Dayton metropolitan area.

With a median home price of $225,000 -- that Realtor.com says has actually fallen about 3% in the past year -- Little Rock may be the right place right now for a real estate investor who wants to buck the tide and make a bet on this very affordable state capital.

The city rests on the Arkansas River and has a population of about 200,000 in a metro area of about 738,000.

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Huntsville is about a two-hour drive south of Nashville and an hour north of Birmingham. This techie Tennessee Valley town is the birthplace of the post-World War II missile industry and home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

Huntsville also hosts a large number of defense- and aerospace-related companies. It's the most populous city in Alabama, but that's still only about 210,000 residents, and the median home price is about $310,000.

This most northeast city in the country could be just the spot for someone who wants to score a house cheap. The median home price in this community of about 7,400 people a stone's throw from Canada is about $150,000.

Agriculture and tourism are the economic drivers here, and the latter could help expose more people -- and buyers -- to this town that could be ripe for people who want to stay connected but move away from it all, too.

5 Stocks Under $49

Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor

We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

America is a broad land, and there are markets large, medium, and small that can provide both a nice quality of life and prospects for residential investment growth. We hope this list provides a few for you to consider if you're beginning such a search.

Marc Rapport has positions in Intel. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2023 $57.50 calls on Intel and short January 2023 $57.50 puts on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.