Resort/retirement markets hold ten of the top twenty spots in the list of markets with the most intense housing development, even with housing starts slowing sharply in many of these cities in recent months.

Cape Coral is the only South Florida coastal market still on the list. The others have been replaced by cities further north, with fewer recent hurricanes and lower housing costs.

Two hurricane-rebuilding markets are on the list, Gulfport-Biloxi and Houston. Houston housing starts are also being boosted by the strong energy industry. Four large and four small “business or college” cities complete the list, led by Raleigh, Greenville and Charlotte in North Carolina. Each is attracting jobs with low living, business and housing costs.

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