US Housing Market Full of Opportunity for Home Buyers

While the TV talking heads continue to despair about a failing economy, home buyers can grab a great deal on a new home.

Certainly, there are still pockets of danger in markets supported by domestic auto manufacturing and speculative investments. However, many housing markets hold long-term value. If you are looking for a great place to live, at a great price it is time to look.

If you are looking to grab one of these bargains start your new home buying with this checklist:

• Avoid areas where real estate speculators and foreclosures run rampant. These are characteristics that can dash a good neighborhood. Nothing hurts a community more than empty, neglected homes--schools go bad, businesses move out, crime increases, and housing values take longer to recover. This rules out areas like Detroit, Michigan and Cleveland, Ohio, areas ravaged by troubles in the auto and heavy manufacturing industries.

• Survey the local economy and look at jobs. Communities with diverse and sustainable jobs, often close to a metro-area, are attractive. Not only are they less likely to take a Detroit-like auto-industry-only fall, but they will have multiple avenues of recovery. Areas like Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Texas; Jackson, Mississippi; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are cited in the Center for Economic and Policy Research has housing markets with promising potential for increasing home equity.

• Look for curb-side appeal. Areas that have intrinsic natural value, like waterfront or majestic mountains are naturally finite in supply. These unique communities and amenities will be the first to recapture the eye of homeowners with cash and growing businesses. Looking for natural value and appeal at a bargain? Your search might send you to Boston, Massachusetts; Honolulu, Hawaii; Albuquerque, New Mexico; or Seattle, Washington.

As a new home buyer you are probably not looking for the quick buck. So, look for housing markets and homes that put you in a safe, stable, and promising community. Neighborhoods with well-paid neighbors, full schoolhouses, and a view are your best bets in 2009 for a great new home and future investment.