Best U.S. City To Buy A Home

Forbes Magazine has recently released it's Top 10 List of the best places in America to buy a house. Who made the list? Where's the Best Place? Why is it number 1? Read on to find out.

Forbes Magazine (the on-line edition) teamed up with Moody's Economy.com to announce where they feel are the best places to buy a home...and why. First, what qualifies an area to be considered?

According to Forbes, some of the indicators are when an area has an overall strong, growing economy and comparably modest housing prices. The area must also be overstocked in real estate inventory with plenty of sellers anxious to negotiate. In addition, an area is prime for a market "bounce back" if it is seen as one where prices aren't likely to fall so drastically that buyers are getting in while the market is still sharply on the way down. These areas are typically referred to as "V" Shaped Recovery areas for their sharp decline, followed by a sharp rebound.

While ANY recovery would be a welcome site to all the people trying to sell their home right now, those who live in the areas that made the list may want to think of the "V" as in Victory. Ok, enough already! WHERE'S THE LIST?!?!?!

Here you go (in reverse order for dramatic effect!):

#10. Atlanta
# 9. New York City
# 8. Milwaukee
# 7. San Diego
# 6. Phoenix
# 5. Chicago
# 4. Kansas City
# 3. Miami
# 2. Minneapolis

And the Number One Place In The U.S. To Buy A Home Is.......

# 1. Tampa Bay!!!!!!!!!!

That's right! Tampa Bay. Forbes is saying that the Tampa/St Petersburg/Clearwater area is prime for a strong market recovery and calls it a "...highly resilient market." Projected job growth and a good economy set the tone for correcting the recent market down-turn, paired with investor-heavy inventory beginning to taper off. While Forbes is predicting a first quarter 2008 bottoming for the area, Tampa Metro is their pick for #1!

If you would like to search for homes currently available in the Greater Tampa area, click here.