WASHINGTON, DC—More small cities, and fewer Texas markets. Those are a couple of the top-line observations to be made about this year's top 10 markets to watch for overall real estate prospects, as ranked in the Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2018 report from PwC US and the Urban Land Institute.

Only two primary markets—Los Angeles and Boston—made this year's top 10, and at the lower end of the rankings, at that. This year's list features a new number one, Seattle, which got there on the strength of its job opportunities, diverse economy and young, educated workforce.

A Texas market had held the top spot for each of three previous years: Austin in the 2017 report, Dallas/Fort Worth two years ago and Houston in the 2015 edition. Although Austin and the Metroplex do figure in the top 10, at numbers two and five, respectively, Houston is now at number 60, due mainly to the disruption in the energy sector. (The survey of nearly 2,500 industry members was conducted prior to Hurricane Harvey's destructive sweep through the Houston region.)