Windsor is ranked the best city in Canada to buy real estate this year.
MoneySense magazine called Windsor a sleepy underdog that has worked hard for the last 10 years to attract global investment.
The magazine lists Windsor's average price of a home at $313,000 and its five year annual return on investment at 11 per cent.
MoneySense said the list helps consumers get the best bang for their buck through value and momentum.
"We start by looking at value, using average housing prices provided by local real estate boards," said MoneySense. "We aren’t simply looking for the cheapest areas, as low prices alone could be indicative of neighbourhoods mired in social problems, or communities that lack amenities and offer little in the way of a return on your investment."
The magazine also scours each market looking for areas where homes are appreciating faster than in other parts of the city.
"We examine this data based on one, three, and five-year trends; the aim is to find signs of sustained price gains, which can indicate an area with greater demand," MoneySense added. "The stronger the overall appreciation, the higher these neighbourhoods ranked in our list.
Shortly after the U.S. housing crash in 2008, Windsor became one of the worst real estate markets in Canada with the city's housing prices quickly falling, the housing supply rising, and the unemployment rate climbing, the magazine added.
It also reported that Windsor’s vacancy rate was the worst in the country at that time at 15 per cent, but it bounced back nicely to four per cent by 2015, while year-over-year sales activity increased by 22 per cent. The city’s vacancy rate dropped again to three per cent last year.
In mid-April, Fiat Chrysler Canada announced it will invest $355 million (U.S.) into the Windsor assembly plant over the next 12 months.
The Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors reported the average price of a home in February 2019 was $322,109. That's a $54,000 jump from February of 2018.
Guelph was second on the list, London ranked sixth while Toronto placed 22nd.