• It’s growing at a rapid pace. No major market is expanding as rapidly as Raleigh, whose metropolitan population has increased by 37 percent since 2000.

• It has a vast inventory of new homes. More than half of all houses in the Raleigh area have been built since 1990. Las Vegas is the only other market above 50 percent.

• It has an impressive supply of high-level jobs. Forty-four percent of Raleigh’s workers hold management or professional positions, surpassing all but three markets.