2006 First Quarter Real Estate Market Update

Buy, sell or hold seem to be the biggest worries of real estate investors in the 2006 residential real estate market. After solid double-digit appreciation in many major markets the last five years, investors see the brakes on growth in 2006. Where to go? Mark Nash real estate author of 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home and syndicated columnist for RealtyTimes.com gives his report on the first quarter of 2006.

-Atlanta, Georgia. Rising inventories could slow appreciation rates that have not matched other major markets.

-Austin, Texas. Good news here, affordable housing prices attracting employers. Rising appreciation.

-Boise, Idaho. New on real estate investors radar, attracting scores of out-of-state buyers. Good profit prospects.

-Boston, Massachusetts. Soft job market, falling prices and bloated inventories.

-Chicago, Illinois. Recent national, state and local statistics dispel bubble trouble in conservative middle America.

-Dallas, Texas. Prices creeping upward, fueling investor interest.

-Detroit,Michigan. Market impacted by soft auto industry and fears of cutbacks.

-Houston, Texas. Demand from Katrina transplants driving a strong market.

-Las Vegas,Nevada. Market returning to normal appreciation rates, demand stays steady.

-Los Angeles, California. Declining prices after years of bloat are keeping buyers sidelined to see where the plateau will fall.

-Miami, Florida. Glutted inventories short-term, south Florida waiting for the next batch of boomers. Many investors sitting on the sidelines.

-Minneapolis, Minnesota. Downtown new construction saturated. First-time buyers breathing life into market.

-New Jersey. This state is one large bedroom community, prices flat, the sold-in-five-hours days taking a vacation.

-New York, New York. Market price pressure building, but don't call it a buyers market. Sticker shock anyone?

-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Weak job growth projections. Flat appreciation expectations.

-Phoenix, Arizona. Ignored in the boom, now being discovered by investors. Most cities here are bargain-priced.

-San Antonio, Texas. Waking from a stagnant appreciation period. Good returns projected here.

-San Diego, California. High inventories, fiercely competitive sellers and declining prices.

-San Francisco, California. Greed factor subsiding, weathering the storm, bidding wars are gone and could be saved by tech industry emerging out of their bubble.

-Seattle, Washington. Good economy and low inventories offer attractive appreciation gains in 2006.


Mark Nash's fourth real estate book, "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home" (2005), and working as a real estate broker in Chicago are the foundation for his consumer-centric real estate perspective which has been featured on ABC-TV, CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, CNN-TV, Chicago Sun Times & Tribune, Fidelity Investor’s Weekly, Dow Jones Market Watch, HGTVpro.com, MSNBC.com, The New York Times, Realty Times, Universal Press Syndicate and USA Today.

Mark is a contributing writer to RealtyTimes.com, BrokerAgentNews.com, PrincipalBroker.com ,Realtor Magazine Online and many real estate blogs including L..A.'s Best Real Estate Web log. He is a member of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, National Association of Realtors(R) and frequently speaks on residential real estate issues and trends through ExecutiveSpeakers.com.