September 2017

Among large U.S. cities (more than 300,000 people) Seattle is the best residential market in the country, followed by Nashville, Denver, Aurora and Colorado Springs, Colo., according to a recent WalletHub report. The firm determined the “best” U.S. residential markets based on their prospects for long-term growth, equity and profit for investors.

To determine the best real estate markets, WalletHub compared 300 cities across two key dimensions, namely the health of the real estate market, including affordability and the economic environment. Within those two broad dimensions, the company used 21 relevant metrics, each on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the healthiest housing market.

For cities with 150,000 and 300,000 people,

…

 

The problem for homeowners who decide to sell in a hot real estate market like Seattle, is that it turns you into a buyer in a very competitive environment. But for those who do decide to cash in, perhaps because they’re leaving the area for someplace cheaper, there’s big money to be gained in Seattle and other cities across the West.

A new analysis by Zillow found that sellers who had held onto their home for a little bit of time are seeing huge returns on their investment. Oakland and Portland lead the way, followed by San Jose, Calif., Denver, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Calif., and Seattle.

Zillow reports that the typical seller in Oakland in 2016 sold their home for an average of $590,000 after living in it for just over seven years. That’s an

…

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

U.S. home prices climbed higher in June.

The Standard & Poor's CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 5.7 percent in June, according to a Tuesday report. The separate national average rose as well, putting it 4.3 points above its housing bubble-era peak in July 2006.

The price increases are different from the bubble period, when subprime mortgages led to a housing bust. There is a shortage of properties for sale, causing the prices to steadily rise at more than double the pace of average hourly earnings. Buyers are also relying on historically low mortgage rates to ease the affordability pressures. Cheaper borrowing costs have kept buyer demand strong despite the price increases.

"Given

…