For the fourth time in a row, North Carolina has been ranked as having the country’s second best business climate. The survey is concucted every 3 years by Development Counsellors International, which has tracked economic trends in development since 1996. Among the variables considered were low operating cost and a pro-business environment.
Today, those tech-savvy 20 and 30 - something part of the so called “Generation Y” generally born between the late 1970s and late 90s, hold the fate of America’s housing recovery. Recent industry studies, including one released in July by the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate confirms some interesting statistics.
Population growth and demographic shifts (Triangle in particular) will see well educated Generation Y that will drive improvements in the real estate market over the next 10 years. There are approximately 77.4 million, roughly the same as the Baby boomers, the younger set is more educated, diverse and prudent with money.
The Lusk study suggests that Generation Y will impact every level of residential product except senior housing. The study concluded that37% are renters, 35% own homes, 28% live with parents or siblings.
Generation Y has watched the stock market, financial markets and economy wipe out their parent’s retirement plans. As a result, they will trend to prefer “lower risk investment strategies”.
Generation Y buyers expect a different attitude and value-added services. Maintaining a good web presence is a must for any agent in today’s market, but more importantly, is the accessibility through technology.
Anticipating that 51 million of the Generation Y will become first time home buyers now is the time to adapt to a new way of selling.
According to Money Magazine, Morrisville is among the top 25 places in the US where real estate is most affordable! The survey looked at growing towns where income goes the furthest in terms of real estate prices. They quote a median home price of $214,500 and an average income of $133,343 for Morrisville. This town has actually reversed the trend of business development following suburban growth in that business was actually here first because of RTP. Great time to buy in Morrisville, call or email with questions - Tina
To determine the next boom towns in the U.S., Forbes took the 52 largest metro areas in the country (those with populations exceeding 1 million) and ranked them based on various data indicating past, present and future vitality.
They started with job growth, not only looking at performance over the past decade but also focusing on growth in the past two years, to account for the possible long-term effects of the Great Recession. That accounted for roughly one-third of the score. The other two-thirds were made up of a a broad range of demographic factors, all weighted equally. These included rates of family formation (percentage growth in children 5-17), growth in educated migration, population growth and, finally, a broad measurement of attractiveness to immigrants — as places to settle, make money and start businesses.
Raleigh rated #2, just behind Austin, Texas!
The Raleigh-Cary area is the nation’s third cleanest metropolitan area and has better water than every other major metro, according to Forbes Magazine’s website!
Forbes.com ranked the 80 largest metro areas in the U.S. for which toxicity data is available and measured their air quality, water quality, the number of nearby Superfund hazardous waste sites and the amount of toxic emissions from industry. Raleigh-Cary ranked No. 1 in water quality, 24th in Superfund sites and 41st in air quality.
I continue to think that Raleigh is one of the best places in the country to live, work and raise a family!
Builder Magazine has named the Raleigh-Cary area the healthiest among the 100 largest US housing markets. Durham-Chapel Hill ranked 3rd. The rankings are based on a number of factors, including job growth, home appreciation or depreciation, unemployment rates, income growth and number of new building permits.
The National Association of Realtors reports that sales of existing homes rose 5.6% in November, compared to the previous month!
The National Association of Realtors reports that pending home sales rose significantly in October, after bottoming out this past June, following the end of the buyer tax credit incentive. According to the Pending Sales Index, pending sales rose over 10% in October, likely due to excellent affordability driven by low prices and low interest rates.
As I’ve said before, this is not only a great time to buy, it is a smart time to buy - Tina
Existing home sales rose in August following a big correction in July, according to data released by the National Association of REALTORS®. Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million in August from an upwardly revised 3.84 million in July, but remain 19.0 percent below the 5.10 million-unit pace in August 2009. Sales struggled in July and August, as expected, due to the June 30th end to the federal tax credit that was offerred to both first-time and repeat buyers. Given low prices, high inventory, and the lowest interest rates in history, this is the smartest time I’ve ever seen to go ahead and buy~ Tina
Forbes magazine employed real estate research firm Local Market Monitor to determine which markets have the greatest likelihood of price appreciation because they offer a mix of jobs weighted toward growth industries.
The top 10 cities are:
1. Raleigh-Cary, N.C.
2. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
3. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
4. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.
5. San Antonio, Texas
6. Colorado Springs, Colo.
7. Albuquerque, N.M.
8. Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colo.
9. Springfield, Mo.
10. Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind.
Once again, Raleigh proves to be the #1 place in the country to buy real estate!