Denver tops list of Forbes’ Best Cities to Buy a Home

Denver tops the list of “Best Cities to Buy a Home” in a June 22 Forbes.com real estate article.

Forbes examined three sets of data in the March 2009 RPX Monthly Housing Market Report which evaluates market fundamentals in the country’s 25 most-populated MSAs. Data included:

• Number of zip codes with 25% of the area’s sales to determine those in which activity is most evenly distributed
• Increase and decrease in price per square foot to determine where market value is highest
• Transaction rates in each city to determine where the housing markets are most active
  
  

From the article:

“It [Denver] had 25% of its property sales occur within approximately 25% of the city's ZIP codes. This means sales in various parts of the city were fairly evenly distributed, showing proportionate activity. The further a city deviates from the 25% mark, the less evenly distributed the market is in that city, and thus the lower that city ranks.

"’Denver scores very well in terms of being able to bring people into a stable housing market,’ says Christopher Cornell, an economist at Moody's Economy.com says. ‘It has better growth potential than most cities today.’

“Cornell attributes Denver's stability to its main industries--energy and technology--that he says aren't likely to decline simultaneously. He also says its housing market didn't grow as much as in other parts of the country over the last five years. ‘Little boom, little bust,’ he says.”

Boston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Diego also topped the list.