Jul 07 2008
10 Cities That May Be Signaling That The Worst Of Housing May Already Be Over
Last week, Forbes Magazine published a Top 10 list that should grab the attention of housing market bottom-feeders.
The Top 10 list of Increasingly Affordable U.S. Housing Markets shows that falling home prices and steady mortgage rates are providing a support floor in some of the country’s most beat-up regions.
The report’s methodology is simple:
- Take citywide income data as reported by HUD
- Match it against purchase prices from court records
- Run the math using “prevailing interest rates” from Wells Fargo
A city is considered “more affordable” if increasing numbers of “average families” can afford “average homes”. It’s not surprising, therefore, that the Forbes list is dominated by cities in which home prices have plummeted over the last year, and in which the economy is relatively sound.
This may suggest that a housing rebound is already underway in several of the cities listed as Increasingly Affordable U.S. Housing Markets, including:
- San Diego, CA
- Orlando, FL
- Riverside, CA
- Phoenix, AZ
- Las Vegas, NV
- and YES our very own Washington, DC metro area
The report noted that in the DC area 57% of homes are affordable for the median household. That figure compares to 37% in 2007. Of course the main contributor to the new found affordability in our area is the 13% decline in housing prices since the same time last year.
It’s a tough time for those that have to sell their homes now - but for those of you that have been complaining about the outrageous home prices in this area … here is your chance.
Read the complete study and its results at Forbes.com.
(Image courtesy: Memorable San Diego Vacations)
