Home Prices for Great Retirement Cities

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index was out earlier this week. It was very newsworthy because it showed a second consecutive quarterly increase in home prices of 2.9% Q2 over Q1. It is the first consecutive quarterly increase in the index in years and, hopefully, will be a consumer confidence builder.

The news is not so good for our survey of great retirement cities at GreatPlacesToRetire.com. Our 99 great towns and cities across the U.S. are down 3.4% for the same period, Q2 compared to Q1. This includes double-digit dips for such high profile towns as Sedona, Boca Raton, Newport Beach, Vail, Monterey and Southampton.

We also now have July closings in our database. This data does show a positive turn, up 0.8% over June. Our index may not yet be newsworthy but this gives us our first month over month increase in a long time. However, home prices in 50% of our towns continued down in July, including significant monthly drops in Vail, Monterey, Aspen, Hilton Head, Half Moon Bay, Reno, Annapolis and Williamsburg.

Noone knows if we have hit bottom. And there is no use in trying to predict it. Get out there and find your great place by the lake, the shore or the alma mater. There are deals to be made.

GreatPlacesToRetire.com provides MLS links and the latest city data on home sales prices, air quality, water quality, medical care, recreation, crime and more for 99 top retirement cities and towns in the nation. Use GreatPlacesToRetire.com to help you make an informed decision for that retirement home, second home or vacation home acquisition.

RSS Feed

More Home Price Data for 99 Great Places

Home sales price data for closings in April and May, 2009 are now available. Since our last post, 7 more cities are now under water when compared to last year's closings. Only 11 of our 99 great towns and cities show an increase from 2008.

High-priced locales Monterey and Vail top the list. But more affordable cities take the next three spots -- Bloomington, Georgetown and Provo.

The average home price in our 99-city survey is down 18% since 2006-07, the peak of the housing surge in most of the country. Vail has yet to hit a peak, up a remarkable 58% from just 3 years ago. Opportunities may lie in an attractive, yet diverse group that includes Bend, Boca Raton, Key West, Napa, Aspen, Princeton and Naples, all down over 35% from the highs.

GreatPlacesToRetire.com provides MLS links and the latest city data on home sales prices, air quality, water quality, medical care, recreation, crime and more for 99 top retirement cities and towns in the nation. Use GreatPlacesToRetire.com to help you make an informed decision for that retirement home, second home or vacation home acquisition.

RSS Feed

2009 Home Prices Stagger In

Home sales price data for closings in January - March 2009 are now in. The drag on home prices is showing up everywhere and is very apparent now that we can compare to data for all of 2008.

Only 18 of our 99 great retirement cities show an increase in home prices from last year. Monterey, Springfield (MO), Coos Bay and Vail top our survey, Monterey an anamoly with a 60% price increase over last year's closings. On the other hand, high-priced havens Paradise Valley, Sarasota and Princeton rule the bottom of our list with drops of over 30% from 2008.

Home prices have endured devastating drops in many cities and towns across the U.S. But the run-up was so great since 2001 that, unless you bought at the top, you probably have seen a nice rise in your home values. For the 90% of the cities in the GreatPlacesToRetire.com survey that show an increase since 2001, the average annual gain is 4.6%.

Who knows whether we have hit bottom. But prices are low and inventory is high. There may not be a much better time than now to be in the market for a retirement or second home property.

GreatPlacesToRetire.com provides MLS links and the latest city data on home sales prices, air quality, water quality, medical care, recreation, crime and more for 99 top retirement cities and towns in the nation. Use GreatPlacesToRetire.com to help you make an informed decision for that retirement home, second home or vacation home acquisition.

x8zb6fkpec



RSS Feed

2008 Home Sales Prices Now Available

2008 finished with home prices down a collective 11.4% from 2007 in the 99 great retirement cities covered by the GreatPlacesToRetire.com survey.

The decline is only slightly better than the nation-wide survey from the National Association of Realtors which shows a 12.3% drop. Few cities have been spared in this crunch. Every city surveyed in Florida, Utah, Oregon and New York show declines compared with 2007. Prescott(+14%) and Bishop(+6) are the lone cities in Arizona and California, respectively, showing a gain. Vail is an anamoly in Colorado up a remarkable 37%. State-wide, only Texas and Washington had a majority of cities showing a home sales price gain with Tyler up 10% and Port Townsend up 12% from 2007. Inland cities near the mountains or near large rivers or lakes faired better than those on the coasts. And cities in cool and dry climates (high in the mountains) maintained their prices better than those in warm and dry climates (desert southwest).

Of course, all of this doom and gloom is good news for those in the market for a retirement or vacation home. Prices may not get much better than they are now in many of the great cities and towns all over the country.

GreatPlacesToRetire.com provides MLS links and the latest city data on home sales prices, air quality, water quality, medical care, recreation, crime and more for the top 99 retirement cities and towns in the nation. Use GreatPlacesToRetire.com to help you make an informed decision for that retirement home, second home or vacation home acquisition.

RSS Feed

October Home Sales Available - Downward Spiral Continues

Home price sales data through October 2008 is now available for the GreatPlacesToRetire.com survey.

The stock market crash of the last two months has just added to the mortgage/credit confidence crisis. Average prices for new home sales and resales in our 99 top retirement cities are now down 6% from last year. Two-thirds of our surveyed cities have a loss compared to last year, with half of those cities showing double digit losses. Gulf Shores, AL down 33% and Park City, UT down 24% lead the pack down.

As grim as the news seems to be, there are cities that continue to buck the trend of lower home prices. Vail, CO is up 34% from '07. Hot Springs Village, AR (+21%) and Ocean City, NJ (+20%) are also red hot right now. Home prices in Vail started taking off in '06 and have not let up. Hot Springs Village prices are rebounding from a dip during 2007. Ocean City prices slumped during '06 and '07 but are making a comeback in '08. This popular coastal town bears watching given the recent Wall Street meltdown. You can check home price trends for these cities by clicking on the city link provided above.

State-wide, cities in Utah are down the most at 16%. Oregon (-13%) is next with all three cities down double digits. Florida and California are not far behind at -12%. Hanging in there is Washington (+3%) and Texas (+1.6%).

To end on a long-term, positive note. Home price declines have been all the news for the past 2+ years. People shouldn't soon forget the prior 8-10 years where home prices were on a major role. All in all, since 2001, home prices in the majority of our surveyed cities are up an annual average of over 6%. You may have been lucky enough to purchase a home in Prescott, AZ or Bellingham, WA where home prices have more than doubled since '01. Only three cities are in negative territory.

Check home prices back to 2001 for 99 of the top retirement towns and cities in the U.S., plus other key city data at GreatPlacesToRetire.com.

RSS Feed