The top US cities for house price appreciation have been rated by real estate market predictor HousingMarket.com and the Mississippi city of Biloxi is coming out on top for 2008. The city was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but looks to see a 4.9% appreciation in housing prices for all of 2008. The government sponsored GO Zone act, or Gulf Opportunity Zone, has helped to drive the reconstruction of the area.
The number two market is predicted to be Salem, Oregon, with a 4.7% rise in prices, followed by Bismarck, North Dakota; Spokane, Washington and Yakima, Washington rounding out the top five. Yakima, which has seen several years of strong sales, had been at the top of the list for much of the year, but has fallen back as things slow down and is now estimated to have a 4.1 percent increase.
The cities from six to ten are Austin, Texas; Grand Junction, Colorado; Fargo, North Dakota; Mobile, Alabama and Idaho Falls, Idaho. Mobile is another city that was hit by Hurricane Katrina and has also benefited from being in the GO Zone. Pascagoula, Mississippi, which comes in at number 16 is another city in this area. Hattiesburg, Mississippi follows Pascagoula at 17, but is toward the northern part of the state and wasn’t hit particularly hard by the hurricane. Its claim to fame is as the home of Mississippi State University.
The rankings from 11 through 25 are: New York, NY; Glen Falls, NY; Salt Lake City, Utah; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Pascagoula, MS; Hattiesburg, MS; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Kellogg, Idaho; Boise, Idaho; Provo, Utah; Ogden, Utah; Edmond, Oklahoma; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Amarillo, Texas and Lubbock, TX.
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