Housing Market: The Best Place To Live...

is apparently Fort Collins, Colorado, according to a CNN Money poll. Other winners include perennial HAWT real-estate destination Scottsdale, Arizona, Ellicott City/Columbia, MD, and the former home of Sprint, Overland Park, Kansas.

Interestingly, though all the major destinations are exurbian/Midwestern/rural heaven, CNN also claims that cities are hot again,
further substantiating the societal trade theory I put forth--families continue to move to the 'burbs, while singles, retirees, etc., flock back to the urban enclaves. But that much-heralded crime spike will follow, because the net incomes of new city dwellers are rising, and as poor people are gentrified out of their homes, crime naturally rises. Follow the money, as they say.

Here's an interesting article from the Fresno Bee on what's being done to maintain affordable housing. When's the last time you saw $120,000 for a condo anywhere outside of the flattest flyover state, eh? Money quote:

"Historically, condos have done very poorly in this market. There was plenty of affordable housing," said Mike Harter, senior vice president with Grubb & Ellis Pearson Commercial in Fresno. "Clearly, that's not the case today. Affordability is a real issue today for people trying to buy homes, and condominiums are a good alternative."

It's a devil's bargain--pay through the nose for privacy and ownership, or end up at the whims of a tyrannical homeowners' association fief for affordability. Excellence of execution, indeed.

Posted at July 17, 2006 05:41 PM

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Fort Collins, Colorado, according to a CNN Money poll. Other winners include perennial HAWT real-estate destination Scottsdale, Arizona, Ellicott City/Columbia, MD, and the former home of Sprint, Overland Park, Kansas. Interestingly, though all the major destinations are exurbian/Midwestern/rural heaven, CNN also claims that cities are hot again, further substantiating the societal trade theory I put forth--families continue to move to the 'burbs, while singles, retirees, etc., flock back to the urban enclaves. But that much-heralded crime spike will follow, because the net incomes of new city dwellers are rising, and as poor people are gentrified out of their homes, crime naturally rises. Follow the money, as they say. Here's an interesting article from the Fresno Bee on what's being done to maintain affordable housing. When's the last time you saw $120,000 for a condo anywhere outside of the flattest flyover state, eh? Money quote: "Historically, condos have done very poorly in this market. There was plenty of affordable housing," said Mike Harter, senior vice president with Grubb & Ellis Pearson Commercial in Fresno. "Clearly, that's not the case today. Affordability is a real issue today for people trying to buy homes, and condominiums are a good alternative." It's a devil's bargain--pay through the nose for privacy and ownership, or end up at the whims of a tyrannical homeowners' association fief for affordability. Excellence of execution, indeed.