Tampa Real Estate Market Noted in Forbes to Bounce Back Fastest
Where will real estate bounce back fastest? Prices have hit bottom in some cities and are heading back up, but recovery rates vary. Here are the places with the best prospects. By Matt Woolsey, Forbes.com When it comes to real estate, the questions on everyone's lips are: How low is low, and when's the perfect time to buy back in? That moment has passed in Seattle and in Charlotte, N.C. Both metro areas hit bottom in the first quarter of 2006 and have since posted price gains of 12.3% and 6.3%, respectively, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR) data. Ripe for investment? Philadelphia and New Orleans. Based on housing inventory and local economic conditions, both should hit price troughs by year's end and bounce back with moderate gains of around 4% in 2008. In markets expected to recover more slowly, such as Boston and Denver, low buyer confidence coupled with a surplus of housing stock has lengthened the slump. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun points out tha...