GreatPlacesToRetire.com Blog

Home Prices for Great Places to Retire - 2010 is Done

2011-01-31T13:58:00.000-08:00

Posts are few and far between now. It was 9 months ago in the April post I was poised to call a comeback of sorts in home prices. With 3 months of price history, already 33% of our surveyed cities showed improvement over 2009 prices. Somewhere along the way we lost momentum and so did my posts.

The WSJ just reported that home prices declined in all 28 major U.S. metropolitan areas during the 4th quarter when compared to 12 months ago.

That is sobering news. Our Great Places to Retire survey doesn't cover large metro areas but it does cover prime small to medium-sized towns and cities and what you might call 'burbs of large metro areas which include the likes of Cambridge, The Woodlands, Naperville and Paradise Valley. Home prices in 60% of our great places were down or unchanged in the past 12 months. Thus, the loss in momentum.

But that means 40% were up, and some in spectacular fashion. Galveston was up 43% and is staging an impressive comeback from a devastating hurricane in '08. Havens for the rich did well with Aspen(+43%), Kailua(+42%), Half Moon Bay(+15%) and Newport Beach(+10%) having a good 2010. More reasonably priced places did well with Fond du Lac up 21% and Fayetteville up 11%.

Colorado, New Mexico and Montana showed positive gains for all cities save for Vail which was down 9% but at a still pricey $995,000 per home sale. Talk of a stable housing market always seems to include Texas and 2 of the 5 Lone Star cities, both near Austin, showed declines in 2010.

Everything else in California, besides the beach havens already mentioned, was down in 2010. Everything in Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and South Carolina was down. Most everything in Washington, Utah, Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina was down.

The numbers don't lie. The housing market in a good part of the country, even in some of the great destinations for retirement and recreation, is in the doldrums. But for those in the market, it is still a great time to make that retirement or vacation home purchase. With mortgage rates still low but creeping upward, it might be best to get ahead of the Fed before it starts dumping its $1 trillion worth of Treasuries.

GreatPlacesToRetire.com provides MLS links, city blogs 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.

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On the Rebound

2010-04-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

Over 6 months since my last post. Quite frankly, there hasn't been much to write about with home prices still in the doldrums. But we have 3 months of 2010 price history on the books and we now have something to write about.

More than one-third of our surveyed cities show a gain for 2010. Aspen (+75%) and Lake Placid (+61%) have the largest gains, but these are small towns. Let's wait for more data before acknowledging the improvement is real. But Las Cruces (+26%), Galveston (+25%) and Boulder (+18%) had a much larger number of sales for the period and saw significant gains.

State-wise, both New Mexico cities show gains and 4 of 5 cities in both Texas and Colorado are positive for 2010, only San Marcos (-1%) and Colorado Springs (-2%) have very slight drops.

Of course, with one-third good news that leaves two-thirds of our great places still with the bad news. Everything in Nevada and North Carolina (!) is down. The only thing up in Arizona is Sedona (+5%). California and Florida are mixed with some cities up big, Half Moon Bay (+26%) and Boca Raton (+10%), and others down big, Monterey (-29%) and Key West (-11%).

But enough with the bad news. Some of our cities have seen no slump at all in home prices, climbing continuously since 2001. Tyler, Georgetown, Missoula and Iowa City have been slump free. Almost as impressive, ten more of our cities that crashed have rebounded strongly and are now even above what their prices were at the peak of the housing bubble. The best of those performers are Aspen 11% above its peak in 2007, Las Cruces 8% above its peak in 2007 and Boulder 7% above a 2006 peak.

GreatPlacesToRetire.com provides MLS links, city blogs 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.

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Home Prices for Great Retirement Cities

2009-08-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

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.

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More Home Price Data for 99 Great Places

2009-07-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

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.

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2009 Home Prices Stagger In

2009-04-17T06:58:00.000-07:00

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.

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2008 Home Sales Prices Now Available

2009-01-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

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.

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October Home Sales Available - Downward Spiral Continues

2008-11-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

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.

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Home Price Updates for Great Places To Retire

2008-06-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

Home price sales data for April and May of 2008 is now available for the top retirement towns and cities in the GreatPlacesToRetire.com survey.

The housing and consumer confidence slump is now hitting our 99 great retirement cities where it hurts. The average sales price of new homes and resales in '08 is down from '07 for the first time (a modest 3%). As reported before in this space, home prices in our great places survey had maintained a small gain from 2007, but no longer (see home sales data for all cities here).

Two-thirds of our survey show losses from '07 with 22 cities down double digits. Gulf Shores, AL down 38% and Sedona, AZ down 35% lead the way. Growth areas include Hot Springs Village, AR up 30% and Ocean City, NJ up 21%. A new town only added this month to our survey is Vail, CO up a whopping 59% from 2007.

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

20 New Retirement Cities for a Total of 99

2008-06-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

The GreatPlacesToRetire.com database now has detailed city facts and MLS links for 99 of the top retirement destinations in the U.S.

New towns and cities include:

Bigfork, MT
Bishop, CA
Carolina Beach, NC
Concord, NH
Fargo, ND
Fond du Lac, WI
Half Moon Bay, CA
Key West, FL
Lynchburg, VA
Marietta, OH
Newnan, GA
Oak Ridge, TN
Pocatello, ID
Port Townsend, WA
Princeton, NJ
Provincetown, MA
The Woodlands, TX
Vail, CO
Valdosta, GA
Wenatchee, WA

These new cities dominate the updated GreatPlacesToRetire City rankings in several data categories: 5 out of the top 15 cities in Climate, 4 out of the top 15 in Population Density and 4 out of the top 15 in Building Permit Growth. Two of the new cities cracked the GreatPlacesToRetire Top 15 -- Concord, NH and Oak Ridge, TN.

March Home Price Update for Great Places To Retire

2008-04-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

Three months of home price data for 2008 are now available for cities in the GreatPlacesToRetire.com survey.

The housing slump is finally starting to hit the 80 great cities in our survey. Only 28 cities are showing home price gains over 2007. Leading the pack are Hot Springs Village, Newport, Chapel Hill and Ocean City with increases of over 20% from '07. On the other hand, "resort" cities Park City, Sedona and Gulf Shores show the worst declines of over 29%. Three months of data is a small sample, particularly for the smaller cities, so we should reserve judgement on the state of the local housing markets until more data is in.

Several of the cities with large gains so far in '08 had home price peaks in 2005 or 2006, and have been on the rise ever since. These include Kailua, Ocean City and Athens. Cities with the largest '08 declines were among the last to be affected by the housing slump with home price peaks in 2007.

State-wise, cities in Arkansas and South Carolina have yet to see a home price peak. Most Texas cities have yet to peak with Galveston the exception peaking in '07. Massachusetts cities peaked in '05! Most cities in California, Colorado and Nevada peaked in '06. Utah peaked in '07. Arizona and Florida cities are all over the board.

Check prices of new homes and resales back to 2001 for our great retirement cities, plus other key city data at GreatPlacesToRetire.com.

November Home Price Update for Great Retirement Cities

2007-12-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

Home prices through November 2007 are available for the 80 retirement cities tracked by the RetireHomeSmart.com survey.

Overall, the average price of a single-family new or used home in the surveyed cities is up 3% from 2006. However, prices are the same or lower than last year in 33 of the 80 cities.

California, Nevada and Colorado have been hit the hardest. Home prices in 4 of the 6 cities tracked in California are down an average of 11%. Bright spots are Newport Beach up 10% and Napa up 4%. For Nevada, Henderson is unchanged and Reno is down 30%. Four cities in Colorado are effectively unchanged since '06 but Aspen is up 45%.

Florida is a mixed bag with Naples, Boca Raton and Gainesville up slightly and Sarasota, Winter Haven and Melbourne down an average 3%. Perennial Arizona favorites Sedona and Prescott have single-digit growth in 2007, but Chandler is flat and Paradise Valley is down 15%.

Utah is holding up well with Park City, St George and Provo up a steady 8%. Three of four Texas cities have strong showings in 2007.

All three New York cities show strong increases in '07, Kingston up 5%, Southampton up 15% and Lake Placid up over 70%.

See home prices for all 80 great retirement cities at Retirement City Home Prices.

Continue to stay tuned to RetireHomeSmart.com for timely home price updates. You can also check important demographic, environment and crime data and get city profiles and a library of video clips for 80 of the best cities in America for retirement and recreation.

Great Retirement Cities

2007-10-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

We just added 11 more great cities to the RetireHomeSmart.com database. We now track key home price, demographic, crime, medical care, recreation and environmental data for over 80 of the best retirement destinations in the U.S.

New towns and cities include:

Las Cruces, NM
Boone, NC
Rochester, MN
Casper, WY
Missoula, MT
Tyler, TX
Vancouver, WA
Springfield, MO
Boca Raton, FL
Bend, OR
Boise, ID

These new cities dominate the updated RetireHomeSmart City rankings in several data categories: 6 out of the top 15 cities in Medical Care, 3 out of the top 15 in Natural Hazard Risk and 3 out of the top 15 in Nearest Big City. Two of the new cities cracked the RetireHomeSmart Top 15 -- Tyler, TX and Boone, NC.

According to the RetireHomeSmart.com method of ranking cities, Tyler Texas ranks as the top retirement destination in the U.S. If you don't agree with our rankings Input Your Requirements to find your own top cities.

RetireHomeSmart.com provides the latest data on home sales prices and provides the most useful data on air quality, water quality and crime. Use RetireHomeSmart.com to help you make an informed decision for that retirement home, second home or vacation home destination.

July 2007 Home Price Update for Top Retirement Cities

2007-08-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

Home prices through July 2007 are now available for the 70 cities in the RetireHomeSmart.com survey.

The housing stall is affecting about half of the cities in our survey with average home sales price growth either flat or negative from the end of 2006. Large inventories of available homes and tight credit will keep pressure on home prices even in the popular retirement cities that we track.

But all news is not bad news as the other half of our cities have seen positive home price growth since 2006 with 11 cities showing double-digit gains. Gulf Shores, AL (33%) and Park City, UT (28%) lead the pack.

Continue to stay tuned to RetireHomeSmart.com for monthly home price updates. You can also check important demographic, environmental, crime and financial facts for 70 of the best cities in America for retirement and recreation.

2007 Home Prices for Top Retirement Cities in U.S.

2007-04-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

Three months of 2007 home price data are now in. The housing slump is starting to hit even our elite collection of retirement towns and cities. RetireHomeSmart.com tracks home prices and other key data for 70 top U.S. cities. The average home sales price in 2007 is down in 30 cities when compared to last year's numbers.

California and Florida, long the home of rising prices, are seeing pullbacks in Monterey (-21%), San Luis Obispo (-10%), South Lake Tahoe (-8%), Palm Springs (-1%), Melbourne (-2%) and Gainesville (-1%). Reno, Nevada is the biggest loser with the average home sales price down 33% so far this year from 2006.

Even with this slow down among the RetireHomeSmart.com 70, the majority of our cities continue to show growth in average home sales price. The biggest gainers are Aspen (+49%), Gatlinburg (+38%), Lake Placid (+37%) and Gulf Shores (+36%). These four are small towns and each recorded less than 40 sales in Jan-Mar of 2007. As sales mount for the year, the growth averages may fall in line with more reasonable growth patterns.

Larger cities with positive growth included Hilton Head (+20%), Southampton (+16%) and Santa Fe (+10%).

Average home sales prices are updated monthly at RetireHomeSmart.com. You can check sales prices and other important demographic, environmental, crime and financial data for 70 of the best retirement and vacation cities in the U.S.

70 of the Best Retirement Cities in the U.S.

2007-03-15T09:49:00.001-07:00

10 new cities were just added to the RetireHomeSmart.com database. We now track key home price, demographic, crime and environmental data for 70 of the best retirement destinations in the U.S.

New towns and cities include:

Ann Arbor, MI
Champaign, IL
Chandler, AZ
Clarksville, TN
Columbia, SC
Colorado Springs, CO
Georgetown, TX
Prescott, AZ
Sarasota, FL
Stamford, CT

These new cities dominate the RetireHomeSmart City Rankings in several data categories: 3 out of the top 10 cities in Demographic Diversity, 2 out of the top 10 in Water Quality and 2 out of the top 10 in Crime. Four of the new cities cracked the RetireHomeSmart Top 15 -- Columbia, Clarksville, Georgetown and Colorado Springs. According to our method of ranking cities, Columbia ranks as the top retirement destination in the U.S. You may not agree with our rankings. Input your requirements to find your own top cities.

RetireHomeSmart.com is the only city site that provides the most up-to-date data on home sales prices and is the site that provides the most useful data on air quality, water quality and crime.Use RetireHomeSmart.com to help you make an informed decision for that retirement home, second home or vacation home destination.

Home Prices Sizzling in Utah

2006-11-28T08:19:00.000-08:00

Home sales prices for October are now in. 51 out of the 60 cities tracked by RetireHomeSmart.com show a gain over the average home sales price for 2005.

Paradise Valley, AZ continues as the top retirement city in home price growth at 90% over 2005 sales prices. State-wide, Utah is on the hottest pace with St George up 42%, Park City up 29% and Provo up 17% since 2005.

Northwest Hot!

The northwest region of the U.S. is popular with Coeur d'Alene ID, Coos Bay OR and Olympia WA all showing double-digit gains.

Northeast Not!

Retirement cities of the northeast are lagging others in home price growth with Portland, Maine down 7% and Ocean City NJ, Newport RI and Cambridge MA all with small losses.

Average home sales prices are updated monthly and you can check sales prices for all 60 of our top cities at RetireHomeSmart.com.

2005 Crime Data Now Available for Top Retirement Cities

2006-09-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

RetireHomeSmart.com is the first site of its kind to adopt the recently released F.B.I. 2005 crime data. Our database of 60 top retirement cities now contains five years of crime data (2001-2005).

Our competitors are either late in incorporating new data when released by the F.B.I. or attempt to create an index or rating that conceals the impact of the raw numbers.

At RetireHomeSmart.com, crime data is reported as soon as possible after the data is released by the F.B.I. (2005 data was released September 2006). And data is reported as the F.B.I. reports it, by violent crime and property crime incident. We normalize the data by reporting crimes per 10,000 in city population.

Pinehurst North Carolina has Lowest Crime

Crime data is tracked for 5 years and bar-charted so you can see long-term trends. Of the 60 top retirement cities surveyed by RetireHomeSmart.com, Pinehurst, North Carolina reports the lowest crime. Naperville, Illinois and Yarmouth, Massachusetts are not far behind.

To view home sales prices, crime data and other important facts about the top retirement cities in the country, go to RetireHomeSmart.com today.

Paradise Valley Continues to Lead the Pack

2006-09-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Average home sales prices for July and August are now available. 50 out of the 60 cities tracked by RetireHomeSmart.com show a gain over the average home sales price for 2005. 23 cities now show double digit growth from last year.

With eight months of home prices in for 2006, Paradise Valley, Arizona continues as the leader with a sizzling 90% gain since 2005. St George, Utah and Southampton, New York follow with 40% and 32% gains. Home prices in Kailua, Hawaii are down 17% and Portland, Maine 7% to lead the laggards. Ten of our top retirement cities are showing flat or negative growth in average home sales prices year-to-date.

Average home sales prices are updated monthly and you can check sales prices for all 60 of our top cities at RetireHomeSmart.com.

2006 Mid-Year Home Price Review

2006-07-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

June home sales prices for new and existing homes in our 60 cities are now available. 49 out of the 60 cities tracked by RetireHomeSmart.com show a gain over the average home sales price for 2005. In fact, 19 cities report double digit growth.

The trend continues with the western states realizing the highest gains. Paradise Valley is the leader with an eye-popping increase of 103% since '05. The average sale in '06 in this popular destination is up to over $2.1 million. Other western cities with large gains include St George and Park City with 35% and 22% gains. Southampton leads the "east of the Mississippi" destinations with a 27% increase.

Arizona, Utah, California, Washington and Florida are seeing the highest percentage gains for the first half of 2006.

Our top retirement cities are not immune to the housing slow-down. Home prices in Kailua are down 18% and Gatlinburg 12% from 2005. Of the 11 cities with zero or negative growth in the these first 6 months, 8 are eastern cities.

Average home sales prices are updated monthly and you can check sales prices for all of our cities at RetireHomeSmart.com.

Google Maps Among New RetireHomeSmart.com Features

2006-06-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

A useful new tool now available to RetireHomeSmart.com viewers is Google Maps. Each City Report (e.g. Palms Springs, CA) displays a map that allows viewing of map data, satellite photos or a combination of the two formats for each of the 60 cities tracked in the RetireHomeSmart.com database.

Viewers can "zoom in" all the way to building rooftops (if in satellite photo mode) and "zoom out" to get a state or regional perspective. By holding the mouse down over the map, viewers can pan, or move, the map in an east/west or north/south direction.

Another new feature is called Cities by State and allows a quick comparison of Quality of Life characteristics for each city in a selected state. RetireHomeSmart.com tracks 60 top retirement cities in 32 different states.

Use RetireHomeSmart to help you make an informed decision about that retirement home, second home or vacation home destination.

60 Top Retirement Cities Now Tracked

2006-06-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

With the recent addition of 10 top cities, RetireHomeSmart.com now tracks 60 of the most popular retirement and vacation destinations in the U.S.

New cities include:

These new cities dominate the updated RetireHomeSmart City Rankings in several city Quality of Life categories: 4 out of the top 10 cities in Home Price Appreciation since 2001, 3 out of the top 10 in Water Quality and 5 out of the top 10 in Household Income. Even with this impressive showing, only one new city was able to crack the RetireHomeSmart Top 15 -- Athens, Georgia ranks as the 5th best retirement destination in the U.S.

RetireHomeSmart.com is the only city site that provides the most current data on home sales prices and is the site that provides the most useful data on air quality, water quality and crime.

Use us to help you make an informed decision regarding that retirement home, second home or vacation home destination.

2005 Air Quality Data Now Available

2006-04-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

Air quality data for 2005 was released by the EPA this month. The data is now available in the RetireHomeSmart.com database for our top 50 retirement cities.

Pollutant Monitoring

The EPA monitors air quality throughout the U.S. Various statistics and summaries are produced from the raw monitoring station data. The pollutants tracked are carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide and two categories of particulate matter (smaller than 10 micrometers and smaller than 2.5 micrometers).

Here at RetireHomeSmart.com we report what the EPA calls the Air Quality Index (AQI) - an approximate indicator of overall air quality. To simplify reporting of the AQI, the EPA separates air quality into four broad categories:

Good
Moderate
Unhealthy for Sensitive Persons
Unhealthy (includes sub-categories for Very Unhealthy and Hazardous)

Santa Fe has Cleanest Air; Palm Springs the Dirtiest

For the cleanest air, 9 out of the Top 15 cities were out west. Florida has an impressive record with all 4 cities that we track from the Sunshine State appearing in the Top 15. With the release of the 2005 data, the trend was for improving air quality conditions in the western cities and deteriorating conditions in the mid-western and eastern cities. Southampton, NY is an exception with an average improvement of 2% in the number of Good days for 2001-05. Though Palm Springs, CA has the dirtiest air, the city has managed to improve its air quality every year since 2001. At RetireHomeSmart.com you can check air quality for any of the popular cities in our database with a City Report. For a summary of the 15 best and worst cities for air quality, go to the Air Quality report.

Stay tuned to RetireHomeSmart.com for important news and data about your favorite retirement cities.

Home Prices for RetireHomeSmart 50 up 10% since January

2006-04-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

March home sales prices are in. After a seasonal dip in January, home prices for our top 50 retirement cities are up 10%. This when home prices for the total U.S. are down for the sixth consecutive month as reported by the National Association of REALTORS.

Home prices for Q1 2006 are up in 45 out of 50 of our cities from 2005. The leaders are St George, UT at 32% higher and Hot Springs Village, AR at 30%. The laggards are Gulf Shores, AL and Kailua, HI which have seen home prices drop 19% from 2005.

Stay tuned to RetireHomeSmart.com for accurate, up-to-date home sales stats for the top retirement and vacation cities in the U.S.

February 2006 Home Price Update

2006-02-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

My last report on home sales prices for the RetireHomeSmart 50 cities was early December. I showed you a graph that confirmed what everybody is saying about the summer of '05 being the peak of the "real estate bubble".

Well, with roughly 10% of February sales figures in, what we were seeing was either a short term lull or, perhaps, just a seasonal adjustment. Because average home prices are on the way up again. At least for those properties in the RHS 50.

Those with homes in any of our desirable cities are smiling again because average home prices are up 13.4% from the lull in 2005. The big winners are Durango(CO) at 24%, Hot Springs Village(AR) at 19% and South Lake Tahoe(CA) and Santa Fe(NM) at 18%.

Stay tuned to RetireHomeSmart.com for accurate, up-to-date home sales stats for the top retirement and vacation cities in the U.S.

RetireHomeSmart 50 Home Prices Up 21% for 2005

2006-01-19T08:05:00.000-08:00

The media of late have speculated that the home price peak hit this past summer. In fact, data from the National Association of Realtors shows that the average price of an existing home across the nation peaked in August and has been lower every month since.

Of course, it takes more than 4 months of data to even hint at the bursting of a bubble that has been years in the making. NAR says that nationwide home prices were up 9.5% in 2005. Interest rates remain attractively low, economic prospects are good and boomers are hitting their peak earning years. Real estate will remain an attractive investment for many regions of the country, particularly for the 50 popular spots tracked by RetireHomeSmart.com.

The average price of a RetireHomeSmart 50 home gained 21% since January 2005, more than double the gain for the average home nationwide. The 50 cities in the RetireHomeSmart index have a strong appeal for the vacation home, investment home and retirement home buyer.

Comparing the average home price in 2005 with that for 2004, Gulf Shores, AL leads the pack with a 64% increase. We are not sure what is happening here but those rebuilding from the hurricane damage of the last couple of years are surely contributing to this outsized increase. Increases in Reno, NV (54%), Palm Springs, CA (42%) and Sedona, AZ (34%) indicate that the migration to the desert southwest is a long way from being over. The 41% increase in Kailua, Oahu, HI just put that heavenly hideway in Hawaii that much further out of reach.

On the other end of the spectrum home prices in Hot Springs Village, AR lost 8% from 2004 and Pinehurst, NC were flat from '04 to '05.

Check RetireHomeSmart.com for home price data for all 50 cities plus more information and tools to help you decide where to make that vacation or investment home purchase.

Second Home Surge

2005-12-13T09:37:00.000-08:00

Second homes have seen a surge in popularity in the last few years. With that has come a surge in home prices. The National Association of Realtors recently reported that 35% of all new and existing single family homes and condo sales were second home sales.

For those who are no longer willing to tolerate the volatile stock market the second home is seen as a safe investment alternative. Continued low interest rates and the aging baby boomer's needs for vacation and retirement homes also contribute to the increasing demand for prime properties.

Retirehomesmart.com tracks home prices in 50 of the most desirable vacation and retirement towns/cities in the U.S. Destinations as diverse as Reno in the Nevada desert, to Winter Haven in temperate Florida to stately Newport, Rhode Island are seeing home price increases in the last year alone of up to 66%.

Home Price Update for the RetireHomeSmart 50

2005-12-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

November home prices for all 50 of our surveyed retirement and vacation cities are now available at http://www.retirehomesmart.com

It seems that June represents more than a short term peak in home prices since November is the fifth straight month of lower prices, albeit only a 5% drop to $315,000 for the average home. Prices have increased a very healthy 14% from January, 2005.

Some markets are still extremely hot -- Reno, Nevada is up 66% from January to November and =Ocean City, New Jersey is up 57% in the same period. Prices in both cities show no signs of slowing down.

Other markets had a sharp run-up in the Spring and early Summer only to fall back. Cambridge, Mass was up 30% in early Spring only to end up where prices began the year. Gulf Shores, Alabama was up 39% through June but fell back to slightly below where prices were in January, presumably affected by the monster hurricane season.