Several Cities Declared ‘in the Clear’ from Downturn

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, July 05, 2012
Nearly 30 cities are “in the clear” from dipping into another housing crisis, posting a “solid base” housing recovery, according to a new report released by Trulia
The “big six cities” that are seeing the most improvements in housing are: Denver; San Jose, Calif.; Pittsburgh; Little Rock, Ark.; Austin, Texas; and Colorado Springs, Colo., according to the report. Those cities posted gains in asking prices of 4 percent or more year-over-year and have seen their foreclosure rates decrease.
Those six markets “avoided the worst of the bubble,” says Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist. “Those metros didn’t have big price declines that we saw in Miami, Phoenix, and Detroit — places that still have a lot of homes left in foreclosures."
Kolko says that Trulia defined “in the clear” in its report as markets with “positive year-on-year asking price growth and low or moderate share of homes in foreclosure.” The other 23 markets cited “in the clear” saw only slight price growth in comparison to the “big six,” Kolko told MSNBC.com.
The six markets saw the following increases in year-over-year asking price increases in June, according to the report:
1.Denver: 7.2 percent increase
2.San Jose, Calif.: 6.2 percent increase3.Pittsburgh: 5.1 percent increase
4.Little Rock, Ark.: 5 percent increase
5.Austin, Texas: 4.4 percent increase
6.Colorado Springs, Colo.: 4.3 percent increase
However, several cities posted even higher price increases in June, but the Trulia report still labeled them “at risk.” Those markets included Phoenix (18.9 percent); Miami (16.1 percent); Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. (14.9 percent); and West Palm Beach, Fla (9.6 [ercent). Even though these markets have seen annual asking prices increase, the Trulia report notes they still have a high share of homes in foreclosure.

Source: “Some U.S. Metros ‘in the Clear’ of Housing Crisis,” MSNBC.com (July 3, 2012) and Trulia Price Monitor Report (June 2012)