Where to Invest in Housing?

Forbes Lists Phoenix Scottsdale Mesa as “Best Buy Cities”

The Mesa, Scottsdale, Phoenix housing market was listed in Forbes as a ‘Buy’ for 2014.  The Forbes article and study analyzed cities looking for opportunities where it appears the prices were still considered under-valued.  In the article  Best Buy Cities: Where to Invest in Housing in 2014 there were 20 markets listed.

Forbes teamed up withe the Local Market Monitor and pulled data for the largest 100 metropolitan statistical areas (a geographical designation used by the U.S. Census) with populations of at least 575,000.  From there, the choices were ranked primarily on the factors: population, home prices, the local jobs economy.  Each of the Best Buy Cities have high population growth and job growth, relatively low home prices, and are still considered under-valued).  This makes them fairly low-risk investment opportunities to buyers who are smart and know not to overpay according to the article.

“The measure presumes that prices will eventually return to this level.  When homes are far under the equilibrium price, investors are getting good buy and can expect to make a good return.  The other important consideration for investors is, of course, a healthy economy.  After all, there is zero point in purchasing a home in a market where population is fleeing.  That why Best Buy Cities are places where opportunities are growing.” states Erin Carlyle of Forbes.

“We are in a stage in the economic cycle where job growth-and demand for housing-is accelerating in some markets,” says Ingo Winzer, founder of Local Market Monitor.  “The types of jobs created are often lower-paying, most suitable for renters, younger people who are willing to move from somewhere else and who don’t want to own a house right now but might have a young family and would like to rent one”

The Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale area has an actual average home price of $196,035 and an ‘Equilibrium Home Price’ of $216,373, resulting in a nine-percent difference with a 41-percent three-year growth forecast to boot.

The top housing market on the list was Fort Worth-Arlington,Texas followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas at #2.