Memphis Ranked No. 1 city for “real estate steals"

April 23rd, 2010 4:09 PM

The Memphis residential real estate market was recently noted by U.S. News & World Report as the No. 1 city for “real estate steals.”

With the help of Moody’s Economy.com, U.S. News looked at the country’s 384 metropolitan statistical areas and looked at average and quarterly price-to-income data. Using that data and comparing it to longer-term averages, the weekly news magazine came up with a list of the top 10 best cities to find good deals on homes.

Memphis was No. 1 on the list with a price-to-income ratio that’s below its 15-year average at just 1.17. That’s after topping out at 5 in the first quarter of 2006. The 17.5 percent decline in home prices reset the market, U.S. News said.

“But while the Memphis market appears to be stabilizing, prices may not have reached bottom yet, according to Moody's Economy.com,” the report said. “A large number of mortgage delinquencies threaten to bring additional inventory to the market through foreclosure. That, in turn, may drag prices still lower.”

Other markets to watch in the top 10, ranked in order, included:

• Salinas, Calif.

• Medford, Ore.

• Washington, D.C.

• Mobile, Ala.

• Las Cruces, N.M.

• Fayetteville, N.C.

• Phoenix, Ariz.

• Forth Worth/Arlington

• Cincinnati

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