Gail and I have good friends that retired from editorial positions with ABC news. When we visited them in Maine a few years ago I was impressed with Bob’s Library. A large portion of his library was full of “tell all” books about Washington insiders.
“Gregg,” he said, “in Washington when you publish a book, you have to be certain to include an index in the back with a list of all the people that are even remotely mentioned in your book. This will be the list of your first buyers!” Bob joked about going into a Barnes and Noble when a new release came out and all you would see if people sifting through the index for their name. If it was there, they bought it (next time I publish a book I’m going to make the phone book the addendum.)
It was kind of this way when I read this weekend Wall Street Journal article entitled, “Real-Estate Investing: the Best and Worst Markets,” by M.P. McQueen (Link here) the first thing I did – is look to see if the markets I operate in were mentioned (they were). I subscribe to one of McQueen’s sources (local market monitor), but I always have trouble with these lists because as I have always have said – all real estate is local (See my list of 25 Real estate investing Rules Here).
McQueens article had two lists ( and they came from Local Market Monitor): the ten best real estate markets and the ten worst real estate markets:
Here, according to McQueen, are his ten Best Markets for Real Estate Investing
10. Jackson, Miss
9. Greenville, SC
8. Oklahoma City, OK
7. Winston-Salem, NC
6. Little Rock, Ark
5. Lexington, Ky
4 Knoxville, Tn
3 Indianapolis
2. Huntsville, AL
1. Durham, NC
These cities are chosen as the best for real estate investing because of the following factors:
· “equilibrium home prices” – homes that are priced well in relation to local incomes, job growth, and population. The focus is on single family homes.
· These areas are chosen because of the unlikelihood that prices will fall further
· They are in places where income is growing moderately
· Employment is stable because of the large amount of health care, education, and government jobs and a small percentage of construction or financial services jobs
Here is a list of his ten worst markets for Real Estate Investors:
10. Cape Coral/Fort Myers, FL
9. Naples/Marco Island, FL
8. NorthPort/Bradenton/Sarasota, FL
7. Deltona/Daytona Beach/Ormand Beach, FL
6. Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, AZ
5. Prescott, AZ
4. Lakeland/Winterhaven, FL
3. Orlando/Kissimee. FL
2. Las Vegas/paradise, NV
1. Reno/Sparks, NV
Well folks, the good news is that Cape Coral/Fort Myers is, according to McQueen anyway, the best of the worst. Florida also didn’t make it to the number one spot.
A great deal of the rating comes from balancing income and jobs with home prices. They attempt to answer the question; based on local incomes are homes affordable? This really does not apply well to second home markets – and all of the markets in the ten worst are second home markets. Retires have low income, for example, but may have paid cash for their home. But, hey, there is no doubt that the markets that are listed as the worst have really tumbled. Are the “markets” at bottom? Well, maybe, but you are not buying a market, nor are you buying dozens of houses. You are buyng ONE, at least at a time. What you really want to do is buy the A HOME that is at bottom and has reason to go up.
I had a client ask me just yesterday – should I buy now or wait a few years? My answer is this:
If you find the home or investment that works for you, but it now. Inventory and choices are beginning to deplete. But if you do not find a good fit now, you will not be punished greatly by waiting – unless you want a unique home – say a waterfront or golf home, or the penthouse, for example. If there is a large inventory of what you are looking for - make sure you are buying below current market prices. Use a Realtor with specialized knowledge of a market – or get the knowledge on your own.
The Oasis Project by Related Group
Look for this project to explode – sales wise. My feeling is that if you are thinking of getting an Oasis Condo – get on our pre-list. Reserve a spot to get one of the condos that are offered at deep discounts – because there will not be many of them at those low prices. The scuttlebut is that there will be a few released soon and Market America Realty Clients will be uniquely positioned to take advantage of these offerings. I am reminded of the old “reservation lists” during the preconstruction days. We do not have the pricing yet, but will we will offer let our prelist folks know first. If you want to get on this list CLICK HERE . Floor plans and pictures to be posted soon.
Gregg Fous Gfous@marketamericarealty.com 800-439-1580