Realty Times April 28, 2008

Wild, Wild West: San Jose, CA No. 1 Market For Sellers
by Broderick Perkins

Much of San Jose, CA is a buyer's market, but sellers have a whole lot to crow about too.

San Jose is the No. 1 Best City For Home Sellers, according to Forbes.com. And San Jose's neighbor to the north, San Francisco, won the No. 2 spot.

In fact, seven of the top 10 spots went to cities in the Wild Wild West.

To weed out the best cities for home sellers from the nation's 40 largest metros, Forbes examined unsold inventories, market tightness, construction starts, home vacancy rates, job creation and the impact of new higher conforming loan limits.

No. 1 for home sellers, San Jose is considered the capital of Silicon Valley. It's a region where home prices are down 6 percent from peak prices and home sales are the lowest they've been in 10 years. The city also has one of the nation's most expensive housing market.

However, compared to other large metro areas and relatively speaking, that hasn't stopped buyers.

The region's high-tech industry and the flow of venture capital makes for one of the nation's best job-creation markets. These aren't small potato jobs, but high-paying high-tech jobs.

Also, San Jose's temperate climate and proximity to other desired destinations in the Golden State makes it a big draw.

Forbes also says San Jose is the nation's tightest housing market. It has the lowest home vacancy rate on the list.

With much of the same appeal, San Francisco is also a world-class city with a much sought-after liberal, open lifestyle. The City By The Bay has also siphoned off a chunk of the technology industry from Silicon Valley and it is often rated as one of the world's top travel destinations.

The other metros in Forbes' Top 10 Best Cities For Home Sellers list are: Salt Lake City, UT; Austin, TX; Kansas City, MO; San Antonio, TX; Denver, CO; Providence, RI; Charlotte, NC; and Seattle, WA.



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