The Best 25 Housing Markets

More housing markets are forecast to experience appreciationin 2010 as the nation's real estate markets move closer tostabilization. The Best 25 Housing Markets named annually byHousing Predictor hold the strongest likelihood of housinginflation of all 250 market predictions issued.Despite the weak economy, home sales are increasing in themajority of the country and are projected to improve over atleast the first half of the year boosted by the federalgovernment's expansion of the first time home buyers' taxcredit to move-up buyers.Propelled by bargain prices, four Ohio markets top the listof the best 25. Prices got so low in most of Ohio that theyhave only one way to go. Bankers slashing prices offoreclosures and short sales are setting a new standard forthe real estate industry in order to try and save theirinstitutions from failure.Twelve states are represented on the top 25 list, includingmany midwest and northern-tier states, which have been lessseverely impacted by the housing crisis. In all, 44 marketsare currently forecast to experience housing inflation in2010. As we encounter the most challenging real estatemarket since the Great Depression, the predictions here willbe updated and change over the year. BEST 25 HOUSING MARKETS 2010 Rank- Real Estate Market- Forecast 1. Cleveland, OH 10.4% 2. Columbus, OH 9.4% 3. Cincinnati, OH 8.8% 4. Toledo, OH 6.5% 5. Lafayette, LA 5.4% 6. Des Moines, IA 5.1% 7. Arlington, VA 4.8% 8. Juneau, AK 4.2% 9. Davenport, IA 4.2% 10. Baton Rouge, LA 4.0% 11. Austin, TX 3.6% 12. Marquette, MI 3.2% 13. Fargo, ND 3.1% 14. Charleston, WV 3.1% 15. Iowa City, IA 3.1% 16. Shreveport, LA 2.9% 17. Bismarck, ND 2.9% 18. Rapid City, SD 2.8% 19. Philadelphia, PA 2.7% 20. Grand Rapids, MI 2.7% 21. Sioux Falls, SD 2.7% 22. Morgantown, WV 2.6% 23. Omaha, NE 2.5% 24. Bellevue, NE 2.3% 25. Pittsburgh, PA 2.3% Talk to you tonight at 8:00 pm ET, DC