Where Home Prices Are Hot Now Despite the Housing Slowdown

The housing news isn't all grim. Even as prices sag nationwide, there are several cities in the country where home values are climbing smartly.
Portland, Ore., Boise, Idaho, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Houston, Austin, and Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C., are among the cities bucking the national trend. Homes' appreciation there between the fourth quarters of 2005 and 2006 far exceeded the national average of 5.9%, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. In some markets, like Boise and Seattle, the appreciation jumped well into the double digits.

There's no single secret of these cities' apparent success, but many of them missed the housing boom of the past five years. From 2001 to 2005, annual appreciation in these cities was between 2% and 5%, far slower than the 7% to 12% national average, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. (OFHEO calculates appreciation based on repeat sales or refinancings of the same single-family properties.) Now, prices are playing catch-up.
Location, Location
• In Portland, Ore., Seattle, Salt Lake City, Boise, Idaho, Houston, Austin, Charlotte and Raleigh, appreciation has exceeded the U.S. average.
• These areas missed out on the recent housing boom and are now playing catch-up.
• Most of the cities have educated workers and solid economies with strong central industries. All seem to be luring buyers from depreciating markets. more...