If a new ranking is accurate, San Antonio’s hot market for commercial real estate will continue to sizzle in 2022.

The ranking, from Austin-based CrowdStreet, positions the Alamo City as the country’s No. 14 market for commercial real estate investment this year, marking the city’s debut on the top 20 list. CrowdStreet’s online platform enables private investment in commercial real estate.

San Antonio’s military presence, population growth, and retail growth led to “outsized growth” here last year, CrowdStreet points out.

“A military presence and above-average population and retail sales growth have helped to spur outsized growth for the local economy in 2021,” CrowdStreet says, also noting a LaborIQ report that its proximity to Austin could eventually lead to a combined market that could have a significant impact on labor, the economy, and real estate. “San Antonio and Austin may be moving closer to merging into a single labor market, similar to Dallas-Fort Worth.”

CrowdStreet ranked the top 20 commercial real estate markets based on nearly 30 factors, including population growth, job growth, unemployment rate, economic diversification, education levels, climate, property prices, and quality of life.

Joining San Antonio in the top 20 are Austin (No. 1) and Dallas-Fort Worth (No. 8).

“Austin continues to benefit from several years of strong population and job growth, thanks in part to corporate relocation and expansion by some of the nation’s largest companies,” CrowdStreet says.

In putting DFW at No. 8, CrowdStreet cites the region’s surge in home prices, apartment rents, and apartment occupancy levels.

“With employment growth and in-migration outpacing the majority of top U.S. markets, Dallas-Fort Worth is full of opportunities for investors in 2022,” CrowdStreet notes.

“We take all property types into account [for our ranking] since the deals on our platform cover private real estate opportunities in all multifamily and commercial real estate sectors. But to make the top 20, a market must consistently rank highly across multiple real estate classes,” Ian Formigle, chief investment officer at CrowdStreet, says in a news release.