Housing’s Best Buys for 2014

Housing’s Best Buys for 2014

Housing's Best Buys for 2014.   Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Housing’s Best Buys for 2014. Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Home prices and mortgage rates are on the rise, and some investors are retreating from the market. However, Forbes believes there are still plenty of housing deals left for home buyers in the new year, and with possibly less competition.

Forbes recently released a list of cities where prices are still low but offer the potential of large growth in 2014. To compile its list, Forbes partnered with Local Market Monitor, which tracks home prices and local economic factors in more than 300 housing markets. Cities were ranked based on housing markets still considered “undervalued” in prices and that offer some of the largest job growth in their economies.

The following metros topped Forbes’ list for Best Buy Cities for 2014:

  1. Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
    • Median home price: $168,383
    • 3-year growth forecast: 25% (3-year growth forecast is prediction for cumulative rise in home prices over the next three years)
    • Prices are considered 20 percent below their actual value
  2. Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas
    • Median home price: $180,645
    • 3-year growth forecast: 29%
    • Prices are considered 12 percent below their actual value
  3. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.
    • Median home price: $201,855
    • 3-year growth forecast: 24%
    • Prices are considered 15 percent undervalued
  4. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.
    • Median home price: $199,506
    • 3-year growth forecast: 23%
    • Prices are considered 16 percent undervalued
  5. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas
    • Median home price: $191,279
    • 3-year growth forecast: 24%
    • Prices are considered 13 percent undervalued
  6. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.
    • Median home price: $170,701
    • 3-year growth forecast: 26%
    • Prices are considered 26 percent undervalued
  7. Oklahoma City, Okla.
    • Median home price: $159,713
    • 3-year growth forecast: 16%
    • Prices are considered 17 percent undervalued
  8. Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla.
    • Median home price: $172,609
    • 3-year growth forecast: 35%
    • Prices are considered 17 percent undervalued

Source: “Best Buy Cities: Where to Invest in Housing in 2014,” Forbes (Dec. 26, 2013)