To hear the national media tell it, homebuyers are fools to buy right now. Home prices have dropped 5 percent since October 2006. Our economic problems aren't over, so home prices are bound to drop further. Why would anyone catch that falling knife? But there are some markets out there that are making monkeys out of housing bears.
According to the National Association of Realtors, home prices are higher in 93 out of 150 metro areas.
Which markets are sizzling? Charlotte, North Carolina, San Francisco; Albuquerque; and Green Bay, Wis., among others.
But don't take NAR's word for it.
Forbes Magazine has noticed the red glow from those cities and others. The magazine just named 10 cities where home prices are going through the roof, including
Forbes: 2007 Best U.S. Housing Markets:
- Salt Lake City, 246,700, up 14.1%
- Charlotte, S.C., $220,000, up 11%
- San Jose, Ca., $852,500, up 9.4%
- San Francisco, Ca., $825,400, up 8.6%
- Raleigh, N.C., $229,500, up 7.5%
- Austin, Tx $188,200, up 7.2%
- Pittsburgh, Pa., $127,700, up 6.1%
- Seattle, Wa., $394,700, up 6%
- San Antonio, Tx, $154,700, up 5.7%
- Portland, Or., $299,700, up 5.2%
Realty Times has its own reporters telling us that a few of their markets are turning around. In Tucson, Realtor Barbara Lasky tells us that October pending home sales are up 26 percent over last year. Tulsa Realtor Curtis Kretchmar says home prices are up nearly 6 percent over 2006.
Not convinced? In 2004 and 2005, 40 percent of homebuyers were investors or second home buyers. Since then, investors have pulled out of the market, leaving places like Florida and Las Vegas cold. Colorado was also hit hard, but suddenly resorts are in again. Realtor Kim Stevenson says new ski-in, ski-out condominiums are selling as soon as they are available.
The point is that things change. And people are smart enough to jump on good opportunities when they see them.
