It Ain’t All Bad…

Recent posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:

• Bainbridge Island: Some Recent Sales 

Mortgage meltdown! The sky is falling! That’s about all we’ve heard for the past few months. Well through the fog Forbes has ferreted out the glimmer of hope, ten places where housing is booming.

Forbes ten hottest housing markets in the US:

1. Salt Lake City, Utah
   • Median home price: $233,100
   • One-year increase: 21.9%
2. Binghamton, N.Y.
   • Median home price: $111,200
   • One-year increase: 19.8%
3. Salem, Ore.
   • Median home price: $227,900
   • One-year increase: 16.7%
4. Farmington, N.M.
   • Median home price: 201,900
   • One-year increase: 14.0%
5. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J.
   • Median home price: $274,500
   • One-year increase: 12.8%
6. Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas
   • Median home price: $127,700
   • One-Year Increase: 11.8%
7. Reading, Pa.
   • Median home price: $157,800
   • One-year increase: 11.2%
8. Glens Falls, N.Y.
   • Median home price: $175,700
   • One-year increase: 10.7%
9. Spokane, Wash.
   • Median home price: $197,700
   • One-year increase: 10.4%
10. Cumberland, Md.-W.Va.
    • Median home price: $109,300
    • One-year increase: 9.3%

 A few comments on the list:

• The median home price is in the $100-300K range… a distant memory for most of the mortgage meltdown markets
• I was pretty surprised to see Beaumont-Port Arthur on the list, I’ve been there, it stinks! Literally! There are sulfur mines and oil refineries that constantly permeate the air with the smelliest fumes.
• The Forbes article sites sun as one of the reasons for the growth in these areas, as people are prioritizing quality of life in their choice of location. Wasn’t that the reason everyone moved to California?