What's left of the housing market's boom has shifted out west where bargains await with the lure of big sky, wide open spaces, high altitudes and double-digit appreciation.

First quarter numbers from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's (OFHEO) Home Price Index put at the top of the list of states with the most annual housing appreciation, seven Western states, but not California or Nevada.

What's more, compared to previous hot markets on the coasts, the West is yielding real "bargains" that are relatively more affordable than housing in the coastal markets -- even after the coastal booms have waned.

"In the month of May, 404 homes were sold (in Salt Lake City, UT) with the median price of $222,150. The median sales price (now) is $309,900. The average sales price of a home in Salt Lake City is $439,840," Salt Lake City-based All Pro Realty Group's Gary Kennard recently reported to RealtyTimes' Market Conditions.

OFHEO said during the first quarter this year, compared to the same period last year, among the Top 10 states with the most housing appreciation were those with double-digit appreciation, Utah (17.0 percent), Idaho (12.3 percent), Montana (11.7 percent), Wyoming (11.7 percent), Washington (11.6 percent), New Mexico (11.2 percent), and Oregon (10.77 percent). Three southern states, Mississippi (9.51 percent), Louisiana (8.10 percent) and North Carolina (7.99 percent), rounded out the Top 10.

Including the four states with the greatest four-quarter appreciation rates, the Mountain Census Division revealed the strongest level of home price appreciation division-wide at 7.47 percent, compared to West South Central, 6.75 percent; East South Central, 6.62 percent; South Atlantic, 5.09 percent; Middle Atlantic, 4.20 percent; Pacific, 3.98; West North Central, 3.51 percent; East North Central, 2.32 percent and New England, 1.11 percent.

Some of the lure of the West comes from its attractiveness as a second home market.

Leisure activities of interest to vacation-home owners included beach, lake or water sports, 57 percent; boating, 38 percent; hunting or fishing, 32 percent; golf, 21 percent; biking, hiking or horseback riding, 20 percent; ski or winter recreation, 17 percent; and tennis, 9 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors "Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey".

The survey also said the West was the top location choice for 25 percent of vacation home buyers and 20 percent of second-home buyers who were investors in 2006.

And the area is still dotted with buyer's markets.

"St. George is still a buyer's market, however, market activity has picked up. Prices are down a little and inventory is high giving the buyer choice and negotiating power," said Phil Bradbury,St. George New Homes Of America agent reporting to RealtyTimes' Market Conditions for the area.

"Homes are moving at a rate that should be described as 'normal' compared to the boom of the last couple of years. With the inventory level high, sellers are now likely to negotiate to the advantage of the buyer more than they were six months ago. It is a great time to buy into the market. Long term demand for the beauty, security, and comfort of the area will keep St. George and the surrounding area growing for a long time to come," said Bradbury.

The Top 10 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in OFHEO's report were also concentrated in the West, including, Wenatchee, WA; Provo-Orem, UT; Salt Lake City, UT; Grand Junction, CO; Ogden-Clearfield, UT; Gulfport-Biloxi, MS; Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC; Boise City-Nampa, ID; Corvallis, OR; and Bend, OR.

Damion Flynn of SimplySOLD Viking Realty in Gulfport, reporting to RealtyTimes' Market Conditions, attributed the fast appreciation in his area to post-Katrina market conditions.

"Due to increased businesses in the area, the expansion of casino operations, and lack of housing, the Mississippi Gulf Coast is a great place to buy a home or invest in," he said.

"The past two years, we have been in an extremely high seller's market with some areas appreciating as much as 30 percent. Recently there has been a leveling-off of housing prices and we have started to see slightly more of a buyer's market. I attribute this to stricter lending standards and increasing interest rates," Flynn added.

Published: June 19, 2007

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Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.