Some Markets Are Still Thriving While Others Slump Deeper
Real estate is a very local market, and although the nation’s housing market is slumping, there are some specific areas throughout the country that are still appreciating wildly, and some areas that seem to be fairing miserably.
It all depends on a number of factors such as the local economy and job market of a specific area and the past health of the city’s housing market.
So what cities are thriving and which are slumping?
Well, the answers may surprise you.
A February 2, 2007 article by Matt Woolsey of Forbes.com, “America’s best and worst housing markets,” discusses the differences in some of the major city’s markets across the United States.
“Talk about being in the right place at the right time. While speculators and flippers in places such as Boston and San Diego are running for cover, in other parts of the country they are basking in robust residential sales. Third-quarter median home prices last year climbed 14.6 percent in Seattle, Wash.; 14.3 percent in El Paso, Texas; and 12.3 percent in Portland, Ore.”
“They also increased by roughly 5 percent in Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Charlotte, N.C., over the year before, according to the National Association of Realtors.”
Some good news was also reported for the areas that were hit the hardest by Hurricane Katrina. The real estate market along the Gulf Coast is appreciating and rebuilding at a rate that many economists and analysts were proud of.
“Prices also jumped along the Gulf Coast, a good sign for Post-Katrina economic recovery efforts. Median home prices increased by 15.5 percent in Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss.; 14.1 percent in Baton Rouge, La.; and 7.6 percent in New Orleans, La.”
Of course some other stand-out areas were most of New York and once-overlooked areas such as Portland Oregon.
But nationally, we saw home prices drop an average of 1.2 percent, and the most affected area was the Northeast, which saw prices drop an average of 4.8 percent.
“Cities most affected by the downturn were old-line industrial markets such as Detroit or Lansing, where local economies are suffering the effects of mass layoffs in the auto industry.”
“In the Northeast, the number of jobs created last year grew only 0.8 percent, according to the New England Economic Partnership (NEEP), versus the 1.3 percent national growth rate. If that's not bad enough, NEEP’s projections for increases in gross regional product and per capita income also lag significantly behind national averages.”
As a result of all these dismal figures, many people are leaving the area and heading elsewhere.
“The latest United States Census net migration figures indicate that 4.6 percent more people left the region than entered it last year. The regional real estate market also experienced a 4.8 percent drop in median prices. On the flipside, the South’s economic conditions lead to the nation’s best migration rate (3.4 percent) and subsequently, at -.1 percent, the nation’s best median home price growth figures.”
It seems as if the areas that have the most stable, tempered growth will fair the best as we enter into 2007.