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Top 10 Luxury Home Markets To Watch for Price Increases or Reductions

The One-of-a-kind Homes Magazine has listed 25 luxury home markets to watch in 2007 in its Jan issue. According to the One-of-a-kind Homes report the 25 luxury markets will indicate where the luxury real estate market is heading to. These markets along with features that make them stand out from the rest are worth watching out for.

The following is a brief report on the top 10 luxury home markets to watch for price increases or reductions in 2007.

1. Annapolis, Maryland. The waterfront city located on Chesapeake Bay offers excellent boating and inexpensive prices compared to Washington’s luxury enclaves. With Washington and Baltimore within reasonable commute, this city is highly desirable.

2. Asheville, North Carolina. An eclectic ambiance and low-key lifestyle attracts people to Asheville which continues to remain one of the hottest places for luxury home buyers.

3. Aspen, Colorado. From a ski enclave this luxury market has grown into a platinum location. With its four-season appeal and restrictive zoning policies, Aspen is still a highly-sought after destination.

4. Atlanta, Georgia. The city offers several new upscale communities, numerous lifestyle amenities, retreats and much sought after waterfront luxury homes.

5. Austin, Texas. A strong real estate market that saw record gains in 2006, the reputable University of Texas, the scenic lakes and the great music attracts buyers to this hill country.

6. Bellevue/Medina, Washington. With prices going up at 28 percent, the market has still not peaked and several upscale neighborhoods are acquirable at a lower price range when compared to other markets.

7. Beverly Hills, California. One of the top ranked luxury markets that is perpetually in demand, Beverly Hills continues to be untarnished and idolized as the Mecca for luxury. Hollywood Hills is currently a hot market for buyers.

8. Idaho. The growing resort markets in the say garner attention for the say that is making its presence felt in the luxury home market.

9. Jupiter, Florida. The boom has arrived here after Tiger Woods’ buy of a 10-acre estate for $38 m. The market continues to surge on this exclusive island.

10. Manhattan Uptown, downtown, midtown. The luxury market is upbeat with record income of more than $5 m in 2006 accelerated by Wall Streeters. Co-ops and town houses are favorites among buyers here.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home, condo or any other type of real estate in any of these markets, be sure to seek out the services of a real estate agent to advise you about current local market conditions.

The price of housing is a major challenge in the United States. Some estimates note that more than 50% of the population can't afford a median priced home. According to National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), of the total number of new and existing homes sold nationwide during the third quarter, only 40. 4 percent were inexpensive for families earning the median U. S. income of $59,600.

But it is good news that housing affordability on the national level has not changed much in the third quarter in spite of a rise in the mortgage interest rates during the last quarter. This was because many markets saw a slight decrease in their home prices, which helped offset the rise in mortgage rates.

Indianapolis (Indiana) is the most inexpensive city for homes in America, based on the 2006 third quarter report of the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). The city reached this position for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Of the total number of housing units sold in Indianapolis during the third quarter, 86 percent of homes were priced at or below the U. S. median household income of $65,100. Homes in this metro area had a median income price of $122,000, which is slightly higher from $120,000 of the previous quarter.

It is interesting to note that the most inexpensive U. S. cities for homes, condos and other real estate are largely from the northern industrial metro areas. The other larger cities that top the list for inexpensive homes in the third quarter after Indianapolis are Youngstown-Warren-Boardman (Ohio-Pennsylvania); Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn (Michigan); Buffalo-Niagara Falls (New York); and Grand Rapids and Wyoming (Michigan).

The report also lists the top seven smaller cities in USA that have the most inexpensive housing markets. These are: Bay City in Michigan, Springfield in Ohio, Mansfield in Ohio, Lansing-East Lansing in Michigan, Lima in Ohio, Battle Creek in Michigan and Canton-Massillon in Ohio.

For both major metros and small metros, many of the least inexpensive cities are located in California. The least inexpensive major metro areas are Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Modesto, Stockton, and San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, in that order. The least inexpensive smaller metros (less than 500,000 people) include: Salinas, Merced, Madera, Napa, and Santa Barbara-Santa Maria.

The good news for homebuyers is that there are many inexpensive cities in the United States. Moreover, even for cities that rated poorly for affordability, there might be some communities within the larger city that have inexpensive housing. For example, even though the San Diego metro in California rated poorly overall for affordability, there are some communities in San Diego priced to meet the needs of lower-income home buyers. A good real estate agent can help you select a community where you want to live based on your housing budget and needs.

Often with financial help from parents, some college-age students select to buy homes or condos in communities where they attend college. This option grants students to live in a property that is usually more spacious and comfortable than typical dormitory-style rooms. For students who value attending a college with a massive football program, inexpensive real estate might be an important criterion when selecting a college or university.

Coldwell Banker, a real estate firm, conducted a current survey to refer the most inexpensive college football towns. The survey compared the average price of a single- family home with 2200 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2

Modest median price gains in new and existing homes, a stable interest rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage, decreased housing starts and a stable unemployment rate are some of the features of the 2007 housing forecast provided by major trade group economists as reported by The Inman News.

NAR chief economist David Lereah anticipates new-home income to start from 1. 07 million units sold in 2006 to 975,000 units in 2007, which is an 8. 7% decline. He cites decreased new home construction as a massive contributing bourgeois to this change. The median new home price of $238,400 in 2006 is expected to increase by 1. 3 percent to $241,400 in 2007.

NAR also predicts that existing home income figures for 2006 to end around 6. 47 million units, which is an 8. 6% decline from 2005. The 2007 forecast for existing home income is 6. 43 million units. The median price of existing homes in 2006 was $223,700 and is expected to increase 1. 7% to $227,500 in 2007.

Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association predicts the interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages to stay around 6. 5 percent, but mortgage originations to start 14% to $2. 1 trillion.

While Lereah predicts that the unemployment rate to stay at 4. 7 percent, Duncan takes it higher and believes it might reach 5. 2 percent by midyear 2007. However, he agrees with Lereah in predicting modest home price gains in new and existing homes for the coming year.

The housing forecast of The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is in line with NAR and the Mortgage Bankers Association. According to David Seiders, Chief Economist at NAHB, the year 2007 will see the housing market re-adjust itself once the housing demand stabilizes, leading to a healthy equilibrise between supply and demand.

Looking at the say level, the California Association of Realtors (CAR) projects that the median price of California homes will end 2006 around $560,700, and will decline in 2007 to $550,000 — a 1. 7% drop. The number of units sold in California will end 2006 around 481,200, and is projected to decrease 447,500 in 2007. CAR predicts that the unemployment rate will stay around 5. 1 percent, even though interest rates on the 30-year fixed mortgage might hover around 6. 7 percent in 2007.

The overall housing forecast for 2007 prefabricated by these four major real estate trade groups is not at all bad. Home buyers and investors planning to go ahead with their real estate activities can fare superior with the help of a good real estate agent.