According to Phoenix Business Journal, Realtor.com‘s Natonal Housing Forecast has projected that Phoenix will be the Top Housing Market in 2017 with a a price gain of 2 points over the national average and 7.2 sales growth over 2016. Phoenix is followed closely by Los Angeles, Boston, Sacramento and Riverside CA. Tucson AZ came in at #9.
Several award winning Phoenix Valley suburbs have been in the news recently as well: Gilbert nabbed recognition in the Best Cities for Families category, Happiest Cities in America, Best Phoenix Suburbs, and 2nd Safest City in the U.S. – Chandler has been recognized in the field of Safest Cities and Best for Working Parents as well. Mesa is all business with Parks and Recreation awards along with excellence in long range City Planning.
Location, Location: Best and Worst Metro Areas for Homeowners
Portland, Ore., Phoenix, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Minneapolis/St. Paul are the best metropolitan areas for homeowners, according to a new Bankrate.com report.
Portland tops the list thanks to inexpensive homeowners’ insurance, few foreclosures and low energy costs. Strong home-price appreciation over the past five years is a common thread in Phoenix, Atlanta and Las Vegas’ top-five rankings. The Twin Cities’ best housing attributes are strong home-price appreciation and a dearth of foreclosures.
The study reviewed eight factors: home affordability; price appreciation; property taxes; homeowners’ insurance, energy and maintenance costs; foreclosures and how rapidly rents rose over the past six years for which data are available.
Hartford ranks last because of high carrying costs: it has above-average property tax, energy, homeowners’ insurance and maintenance fees. The New York City metro area is second-worst due to high property taxes, minimal home-price appreciation and expensive maintenance costs. Only Los Angeles (fourth-worst) prevented a northeastern sweep of the bottom five (Providence is third-worst and Buffalo is fifth from the rear).
“Major cities in the middle of the country did really well in this ranking,” says Bankrate.com analyst Claes Bell, CFA. “Out of the top 15 metro areas, only one is within 250 miles of an ocean. Homeowners in America’s largest coastal cities face a number of challenges, ranging from sky-high mortgage payments gobbling up an outsized portion of homeowners’ incomes to high property insurance rates, especially in hurricane-prone areas, and our ranking reflects that.”
For more information, visit www.bankrate.com. Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2016. All rights reserved.
What would be the best Phoenix area city for you? Check new listings of homes for sale in these cities before you decide!
There are still down payment assistance programs available in Maricopa and Pinal Counties. These are grants, NO repayment necessary. Call us for details: 602-999-0952
We also have options to help with your closing costs. See the links below or feel free to call or email for additional information: 602-999-0952 / golfarizona@cox.net
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