66 cities to buy, Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice
July 9, 2008
With house prices falling around the country, many renters are wondering if this is the time to jump in and score a deal.
The answer, of course, depends on where you live. In much of the U.S., you’re better off buying despite falling home values, say new data compiled by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Even more interesting to potential homebuyers is the chance to build equity. Here, too, there’s good news for many major metros. In 66 of the top 100 markets, you’d be in the black in four years should you buy a low-priced home today.
Safe doesn’t mean profitable, however. With prices falling in many markets, housing is too risky these days to expect you’ll make money on a house deal, experts caution. The object now is to avoid losing money.
“Don’t expect these markets to take off,” says Danilo Pelletiere, research director for the National Low Income Housing Coalition and co-author of the study, “Ownership, Rental Costs and the Prospects of Building Home Equity.”
“The housing boom passed them by because, in many cases, not much is happening in these towns.”
Buyers should look at the purchase as a conservative investment that’s unlikely to pay off like an oil-patch scheme and may even lose value, Pelletiere, says. Base the decision on more than profit, on intangibles like the chance to build stability, to join a community, to enjoy a neighborhood or love living in a particular home.
“I wouldn’t want anybody to interpret this data as saying here’s where you should put your money”, Pelletiere says. “What I am saying is, if you want to put your money into a home, these are the cities where owning makes sense.”
How much equity you’d have by 2012 if you bought a low-priced home today…
| Metro area |
6% loan |
7% loan |
8% loan |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas |
$90,437 |
$89,871 |
$89,381 |
| San Antonio |
$90,017 |
$89,064 |
$88,239 |
| New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La. |
$88,907 |
$87,473 |
$86,232 |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas |
$87,837 |
$86,703 |
$85,721 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas |
$83,880 |
$82,669 |
$81,620 |
| Rochester, N.Y. |
$82,898 |
$81,898 |
$81,032 |
| Syracuse, N.Y. |
$80,231 |
$79,341 |
$78,571 |
| Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y. |
$77,934 |
$77,045 |
$76,275 |
| Jackson, Miss. |
$77,648 |
$76,659 |
$75,804 |
| Austin-Round Rock, Texas |
$70,007 |
$68,530 |
$67,251 |
| Memphis, Tenn.-Mississippi-Arkansas * |
$68,348 |
$67,286 |
$66,367 |
| Baton Rouge, La. |
$61,802 |
$60,648 |
$59,651 |
| Pittsburgh |
$61,174 |
$60,221 |
$59,397 |
| Tulsa, Okla. |
$58,599 |
$57,624 |
$56,780 |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark. |
$58,420 |
$57,416 |
$56,548 |
| Augusta, Ga.-Richmond County, S.C. |
$57,424 |
$ 56,465 |
$55,636 |
| Lakeland, Fla. |
$56,960 |
$55,793 |
$54,784 |
| Columbia, S.C |
$55,993 |
$54,936 |
$54,022 |
| El Paso, Texas |
$55,100 |
$54,316 |
$53,637 |
| Akron, Ohio |
$54,594 |
$53,410 |
$52,387 |
| Greensboro-High Point, N.C. |
$54,592 |
$53,463 |
$52,485 |
| Oklahoma City |
$54,431 |
$53,475 |
$52,648 |
| Youngstown-Warren, Ohio-Boardman, Pa. |
$54,014 |
$53,176 |
$52,450 |
| Wichita, Kan. |
$53,684 |
$52,764 |
$51,968 |
| Dayton, Ohio |
$51,393 |
$50,327 |
$49,405 |
| Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. |
$50,599 |
$49,241 |
$48,067 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind. |
$49,520 |
$48,330 |
$47,300 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. |
$49,104 |
$47,630 |
$46,355 |
| Omaha, Neb.-Council Bluffs, Iowa |
$47,823 |
$46,654 |
$45,643 |
| Birmingham-Hoover, Ala. |
$47,404 |
$46,276 |
$45,300 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. |
$46,314 |
$44,730 |
$43,360 |
| Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pa. |
$46,251 |
$45,254 |
$44,391 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa |
$46,078 |
$44,844 |
$43,776 |
| Kansas City, Mo.-Kansas City, Kan. |
$45,699 |
$44,413 |
$43,300 |
| Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio |
$45,251 |
$44,025 |
$42,964 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich. |
$44,484 |
$43,304 |
$42,282 |
| Toledo, Ohio |
$44,009 |
$42,928 |
$41,992 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. |
$41,847 |
$40,237 |
$38,843 |
| Chattanooga, Tenn.-Georgia * |
$41,025 |
$39,955 |
$39,029 |
| Cincinnati-Middletown, Ind.-Kentucky * |
$40,454 |
$39,184 |
$38,086 |
| Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, S.C. |
$40,268 |
$39,169 |
$38,218 |
| Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa. |
$37,456 |
$36,168 |
$35,054 |
| Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine |
$37,197 |
$35,204 |
$33,479 |
| New Haven-Milford, Conn. |
$36,521 |
$34,284 |
$32,348 |
| Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla. |
$36,217 |
$34,643 |
$33,281 |
| Charleston-North Charleston, S.C. |
$35,592 |
$34,062 |
$32,738 |
| Louisville-Jefferson County, Ky.-Indiana * |
$33,003 |
$31,809 |
$30,775 |
| St. Louis -Illinois * |
$32,933 |
$31,630 |
$30,503 |
| Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Fla. |
$31,544 |
$29,577 |
$27,875 |
| Charlotte-Gastonia, N.C.-Concord, S.C. |
$29,919 |
$28,524 |
$27,318 |
| Columbus, Ohio |
$28,982 |
$27,628 |
$26,457 |
| Albuquerque, N.M. |
$28,805 |
$27,356 |
$26,102 |
| Jacksonville, Fla. |
$26,832 |
$25,241 |
$23,863 |
| Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn. |
$26,567 |
$25,181 |
$23,982 |
| Knoxville, Tenn. |
$24,862 |
$23,663 |
$22,625 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla. |
$23,090 |
$21,467 |
$20,063 |
| Richmond, Va. |
$21,500 |
$19,740 |
$18,217 |
| Raleigh-Cary, N.C. |
$19,004 |
$17,386 |
$15,985 |
| Springfield, Mass. |
$16,338 |
$14,591 |
$13,079 |
| Philadelphia-Camden, N.J.-Wilmington, Del. -Maryland * |
$14,492 |
$12,532 |
$10,836 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. |
$13,494 |
$11,405 |
$9,598 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem, Pa.-Easton, N.J. |
$12,779 |
$11,063 |
$9,578 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. |
$12,745 |
$11,076 |
$9,632 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-North Carolina * |
$10,449 |
$8,515 |
$6,842 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla. |
$9,400 |
$7,433 |
$5,730 |
| Colorado Springs, Colo. |
$4,482 |
$2,736 |
$1,224 |
