Carollo's Blog on Real Estate- Featuring Queens and Nassau County Real Estate Information

America's Worst-Selling Housing Markets

According to America's Worst-Selling Housing Markets featured on Forbes.com the nation's top ten most sedentary housing markets were complied to a list as a result of dropping housing prices and sluggish sales rates.  Price growth and sales rates in the country's 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas also helped to determine this list.  Furthermore, according to the article, "By using sales rate, instead of the months remaining of inventory, we wind up with a figure that shows how quickly homes have been leaving the market from its most saturated point, the most straightforward indicator for measuring sedentary vs. active sales."

Read the entire article America's Worst-Selling Housing Markets featured on Forbes.com
In Pictures: American's Worst-Selling Housing Markets featured on Forbes.com

Best Places To Get Ahead

According to the real estate feature Best Places To Get Ahead on Forbes.com, the best areas for income and housing growth are not located in the areas most would think, like New York City, San Fransciso or even Los Angelos.  Not to say that these areas don't offer the potential to succeed, however, these areas are the most competitive throughout the country and don't boast the best employment opportunities for the average American.  Furthermore, Forbes has comprised a list of the areas where the median income data had risen since 2000 and local economies have boomed.  For example, "The places that experienced prolonged income and job booms since 2000 are often satellite economies of larger cities. Within a metropolitan area, the central city is typically the driving force of the economy. But as suburban counties develop, they often turn into secondary economic centers with their own industry and jobs. " 

Read the entire article Best Places To Get Ahead on Forbes.com
In Pictures: Best Places To Get Ahead on Forbes.com

Best Cities For Bargain House-Hunters

According to the real estate article Best Cities For Bargain House-Hunters featured on Forbes.com those looking to advantage of the housing slump the nation has endured for the past couple of years are researching the market for prices to bottom out and buy.  According to the article, the best market for these buyers is a market in which job growth is strong, housing foreclosures are low and housing inventory is high.  These factors allow for buyers to predominately negotiate and dictate housing prices while not exposing themselves to economic and lending risk that has plummeted most of the real estate market. 

Read the entire real estate article Best Cities For Bargain House-Hunters featured on Forbes.com
Complete List: Best Cities For Bargain House-Hunters on Forbes.com

America's Free-Falling Housing Markets

According to the article America's Free-Falling Housing Markets featured on Forbes.com homeowners near foreclosure stand to benefit from the Bush administration's initiative.  According to Project Lifeline, assembeled by six of the nation's largest financial institutions, the program allows qualified homeowners to delay proceedings for 30 days while providing them with rewriting and refinancing assistance.  The nation's six largest financial institutions are JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Countrywide Financial, Citigrop and Washington Mutual.  All of these lenders have agreed to contact homeowners whom are 90 days or more overdue on their mortgage payments and work with them on making their mortgage more affordable. 

Read the entire real estate article America's Free-Falling House Markets on Forbes.com
In Pictures: America's Free-Falling House Markets on Forbes.com

America's Richest Counties

America's Richest Counties features on Forbes.com discusses the most expensive and richest counties throughout the nation.  According to the article it's easy to assume that most of the richest counties are located within the tri-state area: New York, New Jersey and Conneticut.  While most affluent areas such as Nassau County on Long Island, New York house many well-off residents, apparently the wealthiest throughout the nation live among D.C. suburbs.  Surprisingly, D.C. is not often regarded as a center of wealth, however with billions handed out in bonuses on Wall Street, residents of the area are more than wealthy. 

Read the entire article America's Richest Counties on Forbes.com
Complete List: America's Richest Counties on Forbes.com 

America's Most Lucrative Neighborhoods

According to the real estate features America's Most Lucrative Neighborhoods on Forbes.com neighborhoods throughout the nation like Charlestown, Massachusetts rarely caught buyers interest and were appropriately priced relatively low.  Charlestown was a neighborhood overshadowed by the interstate 93 which cut through most of the area.  However, the Big Dig project changed that by rerouting their entire highway.  Since the changes have come into effect the area has "new condos or townhouses, as well as older, renovated, colonial-style homes, are now available to buyers seeking luxury housing."  The example of Charlestown dramatically exhibits how effective rezoning in public infrastructure can help bolster an area's home prices. 

Read the entire article America's Most Lucrative Neighborhoods on Forbes.com
Complete List: America's Most Lucrative Neighborhoods on Forbes.com

Best And Worst Cities For Renters

According to Best And Worst Cities For Renters, an article recently featured on Forbes.com, for most renters paying their monthly rent feels like giving their money away, for the fact that equity isn't built and there are no tax benefits.  However, renting makes sense for those unable to buy real estate in a housing market this unstable.  Americans such as these are growing in number, with mortgage applications falling to their lowest level in a year.  Nonetheless, these figures are good news for landlords in New York City and SanFranciso, where tenants pay the highest rents in the country by a significant margin.

Read the entire article Best And Worst Cities For Renters on Forbes.com
In Pictures: Most Expensive Cities For Renters
In Pictures: Least Expensive Cities For Renters

Credit-Rating Clout

According to a recent article, Credit-Rating Clout featured on Forbes.com people have become increasingingly dependent on credit, however, few people know how credit ratings or credit scores are determined.  This information is crucial to the debter though, because a difference in credit rating makes all the difference when purchasing a home.  The credit score determines the likelihood that an individual will pay back the money he has borrowed.  According to the article, "The primary factors used to calculate an individual's credit score are his or her credit payment history, current debts, length of credit history, credit-type mix and frequency of applications for new credit."  An individual's FICO score, a term often used interchangably with credit score, is crucial to the amount he will pay monthly for a mortgage.  The lower the individual's FICO score, the higher the risk and the more likely that individual will not pay his debts. 

Read Credit-Rating Clout on Forbes.com for more information concerning credit ratings
In Pictures: 10 Ways To Improve Your Credit

Best Blue-Chip Real Estate Investments

According to a recent real estate feature, Best Blue-Chip Real Estate Investments on Forbes.com, so called "blue chip" neighborhoods, are neighborhoods in which properties have held on to and increased in value over the last 17 years.  These properties have steadily accrued value as opposed to the overall housing slump throughout the nation, in which inventory has increased and sales have been sluggish.  The "blue chip" neighborhoods feature properties in segments of Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, Chicago and parts of University Park in Dallas.  Astonishingly, the median home sale price has grown, 440%, 236% and 148%, respectively.  These areas were chosen specifically for their greatest historical appreciation since 1990.  Furthermore, these markets surpassed market downturns and growth, no matter how many cycles they have weathered. 

Read Best Blue-Chip Real Estate Investments on Forbes.com
Complete List Best Blue-Chip Real Estate Investments in America

Best And Worst U.S. Housing Markets

According to the article Best And Worst U.S. Housing Markets featured on Forbes.com, risky loans, oversupply coupled with low demand have plagued the nation's housing markets.  These factors have contributed directly to decreasing prices and stalling sales.  However, there are some markets throughout the nation that have not suffered during this housing slump.  In contrast, these markets have proved resilient to the market changes and in some cases have actually increased housing prices and sales.  In the Northeast, median home prices increased from 3.2% since this time last year.  In the West, Forbes.com describes the housing market as a battle between North and South, with median house values on the rise. 

Read the entire article Best And Worst U.S. Housing Markets on Forbes.com
In Pictures: Best U.S. Housing Markets
In Pictures: Worst U.S. Housing Markets