According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the number one criteria for homebuyers is neighborhood quality. What buyers want in a neighborhood are proximity to job or school, family and friends.
Relocate-America.com , a website that assists consumers in finding communities that best fit their needs, has just released "America's Top 100 Places to Live in 2006," based on specific criteria that can be assumed to define neighborhood quality with more detail.
"America's Top 100 Places to Live" are chosen based upon a variety of criteria, says the site. A community must first be nominated by a current or past resident, or other individuals familiar with the community's benefits. Then, Relocate-America's editorial team reviews the nominations for compelling reasons regarding what makes the community a special place to live.
Such descriptions often include references to a community's:
- People and neighbors
- Beauty of area
- Great schools
- Low crime rates
- Activities, such as museums, theaters and sports
- Economic health, with employment opportunities and affordable housing
For verification and ranking, the editors also review the nominated towns education, crime, employment and housing data for the past year.
From the Top 100, the Top 10 communities are ranked and the remaining 90 are compiled alphabetically to equally recognize those top communities on the list.
This year, the editors chose the following as the Top 10 Communities among the Top 100 Places to Live in 2006:
- Naperville, IL
- Cary, NC
- Boulder, CO
- Ithaca, NY
- Charlottesville, VA
- Ann Arbor, MI
- New York, NY
- Columbia, MO
- State College, PA
- Bend, OR
The Top 100 List, compiled annually since 1998, reflects the choices of thousands of HomeRoute site visitors. "It's a challenge every year to create this list because residents are so passionate about their communities," says real estate broker and HomeRoute founder Steve Nickerson, president and CEO. "In addition to schools, people are looking to their communities for more amenities, and these top places provide those benefits."
Most buyers (93 percent) enjoy using websites as part of their search, according to NAR.
Approximately 11 percent of homebuyers are relocating to another area because of a corporate move or a new job.
