Yuma and Tucson make the list, but sadly, not Phoenix metro (Pima: real estate, houses)

[Jkgourmet]

The 15 Best Housing Markets for the Next Five Years - Yahoo! Finance

[maverick974]

It's interesting that two of the highest ranked cities are in Oregon. That very surprising to me. Well, suspect actually.

[CheyDee]

I'm surprised to see Yuma there, with it's 25.8% unemployment rate.

[corydon]

High unemployment seem to be a good thing for the housing market??? All those articles like best place to live/retire/get started and what not.....
It is all up to the individual.

[Potential_Landlord]

I think most of these rankings are a bunch of baloney, particularly if they do not tell you their methodology. Who ever follows up on these rankings and exposes the nonsense? -Nobody, and that's why they keep publishing. What I was surprised about is that Tucson has a higher median household income than Phoenix? Is that true? - Thanks, P.L.

[Zippyman]

Lol.. It's pretty obvious the author has never been to Yuma or Tucson.. I've wondered for quite a while about these Yahoo "news" articles, it seems they must be paying for this gibberish.

[curly5759]

Originally Posted by CheyDee

I'm surprised to see Yuma there, with it's 25.8% unemployment rate.

A lot of the unemployment is due to seasonal farm work. I don't think it is bad as it sounds. I do question the population of 200,000+, unless they are referring to the county population, and not the City of Yuma. City is probably between 80,000 and 100,000 people.


Curly

[CheyDee]

Originally Posted by curly5759

A lot of the unemployment is due to seasonal farm work. I don't think it is bad as it sounds. I do question the population of 200,000+, unless they are referring to the county population, and not the City of Yuma. City is probably between 80,000 and 100,000 people.


Curly

That may be, but I would think seasonal workers have more challenges buying homes - certainly enough to keep it off the list.

Good catch about the population.

[CheyDee]

Originally Posted by Potential_Landlord

What I was surprised about is that Tucson has a higher median household income than Phoenix? Is that true? - Thanks, P.L.

According to C-D's most current data (2009), the median household income in Tucson was $35,565 and Phoenix was $47,085. This site mentions "Tucson and Pima County area" median household income in 2011 as $59,600 and this one mentions the Phoenix metro area as $50,058 for 2011. I think Tucson's numbers may be a little inconsistent because much of Tucson lies within the City of Tucson, but there are parts of Tucson outside city limits too.

[locolobo13]

I think that list is based on annualized "expected" growth. By growth I think they mean the price of the houses in the area. Relevant if you're a real estate investor. Not so relevant to me tho.