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20 Cities Surviving the Recession

May 17th, 2010 9:47 AM

by Miranda Marquit
Tuesday, May 11, 2010

provided by

This recession has been a brutal one for many job-seekers. The job market has deteriorated in many parts of the country, but some cities were harder hit than others, and some cities are starting to emerge from the recession, offering new job opportunities.

Things do seem to be improving on the jobs front — at least in some places. Indeed, Forbes offers a list of cities where the recession is easing, based on data from the 40 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Yahoo Hot Jobs also reports on cities that are offering expected job growth in 2010. Here are 20 cities where the recession is ending — and you might be able to find a job.

Washington, D.C.

The nation's capital is on its way to recovery from the recession, and this includes Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia. Job growth is beginning, and home prices appear to be stabilizing somewhat. The government is hiring again, and that is helping matters for the D.C. area as well.

Austin, Texas

The Austin area has seen good job growth even during the recession, ranking number one in that category between 2007 and 2009. The capital of Texas has been somewhat protected from the effects of recession, and enjoys a solid three-year job growth forecast. Texas has been a good place to be this entire recession, and Austin is one of the leaders.

Minneapolis

The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is doing well, also, providing a beacon of economic hope in the Midwest. While the job growth potential isn't as good as in some Texas cities, Minneapolis nevertheless shows solid progress in job creation, and offers a degree of stability in the housing market.

Dallas

Another Texas town, Dallas is offering some encouraging signs of economic recovery and job creation. Included in this area is Fort Worth and Arlington. While not as far along as Austin, Dallas still provides a number of opportunities for those looking to escape some of the ravages of recession.

Denver

Nestled high in the Rocky Mountains, it is easy, sometimes, to overlook Denver. However, this is a mistake if you are looking to escape the recession. The city might have been a little slow during the recession, but it appears to be coming out of the funk nicely, with a decent jobs growth forecast and a relatively stable housing market.

Houston

Again, the resiliency of Texas is seen in the Houston area. There is a good job growth forecast for the next three years, and Houston even saw a positive ranking during 2007 through 2009 — during the height of the recession. And it looks like Houston is ready to hit a period of economic growth running.

San Antonio, Texas

There's just no escaping Texas. San Antonio has the distinction of being number one out of metro areas when it comes to the three-year job growth forecast. It was even number two on the job growth list for 2007-2009. If you are looking for a job to help you overcome your own personal recession, you might consider San Antonio.

Boston

The area that includes Boston, Cambridge and Quincy in Massachusetts is providing a nice Northeastern haven from the recession in some ways. Home prices are relatively stable, the city saw reasonable job growth during the recession. While the three-year forecast for job growth isn't as impressive, the city nonetheless is showing signs of economic life.

Los Angeles

It may come as a surprise that Forbes considers L.A. on this list. However, the area including L.A., Long Beach and Santa Ana is showing some signs of rebounding. The metro area has a large gross domestic product, and the three-year job growth forecast is ranked 12, showing that improvement is on the way.

Kansas City, Mo.

Another Midwestern gem, Kansas City is showing that it is ready to climb out of the recession. The three-year job growth forecast in Kansas City is ranked 14. The city kept jobs reasonably well during the recession, and is now looking forward, with job creation and with stabilizing home prices.

Fort Hood, Texas

This Army base, and the surrounding areas of Killeen and Temple, provide jobs in the form of health care services and other services needed to keep the base running. There is also high demand for higher education jobs, and the fact that military base consolidation is going to Fort Hood means future opportunities.

Salt Lake City

This mountain city is known for its quality jobs and technology industry. The entire state of Utah saw minimal fallout from subprime lending, even though the local real estate market did fall. Cutbacks at the state level are modest, and there are good opportunities for growth in Salt Lake City.

Durham, N.C.

There are a number of industries that are helping Durham move out of its recession funk, including pharmaceutical, higher education and research. While prices fell during the recession, they appear to be stabilizing as population growth encourages demand for homes. Yahoo considers Durham a professional hot spot.

McAllen, Texas

This area includes Mission and Edinburg. Like the rest of the metro areas in Texas, McAllen is showing promise for the future. Employment growth has happened even during the recession, and there is demand for technology and business professionals. Service industries are also doing reasonably well in McAllen.

Lafayette, La.

Energy is one of the major industries in Louisiana, and Lafayette stands to gain as the economy improves. Recent increases in oil prices have been helping the city out of the recession. Lafayette shows future promise as it tries to develop additional industries that are less dependent on fluctuating energy prices.

Olympia, Wash.

With its state government jobs, the capital of Washington is attractive. Additionally, it is seeing job growth helping it out of the recession as businesses choose Olympia over the high costs in Seattle. Business growth has helped the city move out of the recession, but state government employment is expected to decline.

Raleigh, N.C.

Throughout the recession, Raleigh's strong underlying business community and higher education community helped reduce exposure. This base is giving Raleigh, even though it did suffer during the recession, a strong foundation for recovery moving forward. There is special emphasis on the technology and services industries in Raleigh.

Huntsville, Ala.

The home of Space Camp is also known for an economy that is considered fairly diverse. There is a growing military base that should bring in new jobs, and the variety of jobs already there, including professional, research, technology and manufacturing, are creating a solid base for recovery from the recession.

The next two cities may not be completely ready for economic recovery, but they show promise since they are among those listed as good cities for green energy jobs. If you are looking to ride the wave of future jobs in green industries, you might consider the following cities as possible candidates.

Portland, Ore.

This city is considered among the most sustainable in the U.S. A growing percentage of Oregon's jobs are in green industries. However, Portland continues to struggle with high unemployment. But with the continued interest in green energy, especially as the economy improves, the city might find itself in a better position soon.

San Francisco

Like Portland, San Francisco is still reeling a little bit from the recession. However, the city shows signs of getting ready for a recovery, and part of that is due to green energy. Permits for LEED-certified buildings are up, and that means construction workers will be needed.

Finding a job in this economy is still difficult, even in some of the cities that are seeing a measure of recovery from the recession. The job hunt still requires that you get things in order, and that you persist in your efforts. Looking in certain cities, though, might help increase your chances of finding a job and overcoming your own personal recession

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Looking to purchase properties below current market value? Call Gail today at 949 422-4343. Visit www.viphousesearch.com to view all Standard sales, Foreclosed, Bank Owned Homes and Short Sales.

Posted by Gail McClendon on May 17th, 2010 9:47 AMPost a Comment (0)

Fixer-Upper Financing: 203k Program Provides Buyers with Renovation Funds

May 8th, 2010 12:01 PM

RISMEDIA, March 27, 2010—(MCT)—The word “as-is” can indeed be one scary phrase. Especially when buying a home in today’s market where foreclosures and short sales that need fix-up work are plentiful.

But a little-known Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan program that’s been around since 1978 can help take the sting out of “as-is.” Only 219 borrowers took advantage of the FHA’s 203k program in 2009. Not that many lending and real estate professionals are aware of the program, say observers.

Last year, Tom Meyer found a classic Oakland, Calif., home built in 1925 near Mills College he liked a lot. As a short sale it was priced right and about half the original asking price. Trouble was, the place needed some fix-up work—foundation improvements, dry rot work, a new roof over the garage and other improvements.

With the help of the FHA’s 203k renovation financing loan program, Meyer folded about $100,000 worth of repairs and improvements into his $422,000 mortgage. He had bought the home for $320,000. “I would not be able to pay a contractor $100,000 and buy a house at the same time,” said Meyer, who works in corporate media at Shaklee’s Pleasanton headquarters. “It had been essentially allowed to start falling apart over the last 20 years.”

He had rented in San Francisco for 25 years before moving into his new digs last September with his girlfriend, Cathy Keating. “We like old houses, and a great benefit of this program is that it helped us keep a beautiful but deteriorating house from deteriorating further. With the work we did, we expect it to still be standing and beautiful 80 years from now,” he said.

Renovation financing through the 203k program allows the costs of needed repairs and improvements to be included in the FHA federally-insured loan amount instead of having the buyer come up with cash or a separate loan to do the work.

“This is a perfect loan for an as-is situation,” said Kristine Marr, a loan officer with Prospect Mortgage in Lafayette, Calif. “It’s not a new loan program, although I think it’s going to have a lot more use today because we have so many foreclosures and bank-owned properties. You go into lots of homes and see people have yanked out stoves and ovens and fixtures and sinks.”

The work has to be done within six months after escrow closes. Borrowers have the option of putting up to six months of mortgage payments on the end of the loan if they don’t want to live in the house while the work is being done.

“Renovation financing is a program that allows you to not only finance the purchase of a home but finance any repairs and/or improvements. It provides buyers with a responsible way to purchase a fixer-upper property,” said Luis C. Munoz, who helped Meyer with the loan and is a renovation loan specialist with the Oakland branch of Mason-McDuffie Mortgage Corp. Munoz also gives presentations about the program at monthly home ownership workshops sponsored by the Unity Council, an Oakland-based nonprofit.

At a time when equity loans are hard to get, the program can also be used as a refinancing vehicle for borrowers who want to do repairs and improvements, provided the value of the home is greater than the value of the loan. “At the same time as you refinance, you pop in the extra dollars you need for whatever you want to do,” Marr said.

FHA home loans require certain health and safety standards be met and that needed repairs identified during the inspection process be completed before escrow closes. However, minor repairs and improvements costing between $5,000 and $15,000 can be done after escrow closes for borrowers who opt for a streamlined repair program.

A 203k loan can help buyers finance both minor and major repairs and improvements. It can also help buyers compete with investors when bidding for short sales and foreclosures, said Sheri Powers, director of the Homeownership Center at Unity Council.

The loans can also be used to pay for improvements such as new appliances, second-story additions, remodeled kitchens and bathrooms, and skylights, just to name a few examples. “Property repairs cost money and they want to make sure people using their loan program are going to be in the home in long run and not just the short run,” Powers said.

By Eve Mitchell

The loans have become more popular since home prices started falling and FHA lending limits were raised a couple years ago but are still a tiny sliver of overall FHA loan volume. Last year, 203k loans accounted for 219 mortgages in the Bay Area, compared to 35 in 2008, one in 2007 and none in 2005 and 2006, according to Department of Housing and Urban Development statistics. “It’s making a comeback,” said Powers.

Marr said that 203k financing is not for everyone. A buyer will have to work with contractors and may have to wait several months before moving in, she said. And there is no guarantee they won’t be outbid by an investor for the property. “A lot of listing agents are preferring the investors, because the investors tend to be all cash or 50% cash. That’s always hard to compete with,” she said.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Visit www.viphousesearch.com to search for Foreclosed home for sale in the Mission Viejo and surrounding city area. I have listings with Mission Viejo Lake Views.

Call Gail direct at 949 422-4343.

Posted by Gail McClendon on May 8th, 2010 12:01 PMPost a Comment (0)

Pending Home Sales on an Upswing

May 5th, 2010 2:20 PM

RISMEDIA, May 5, 2010—Pending home sales increased again in March 2010, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3% to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1% above March 2009 when it was 85.0; this follows an 8.3% increase in February. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said favorable affordability conditions have been working with the tax credit. “Clearly the home buyer tax credit has helped stabilize the market. In the months immediately following the expiration of the tax credit, we expect measurably lower sales,” he said. “Later in the second half of the year, and into 2011, home sales will likely become self-sustaining if the economy can add jobs at a respectable pace, and from a return of buyer demand as they see home values stabilizing.”

The PHSI in the Northeast declined 3.3% to 75.1 in March but remains 27.2% higher than March 2009. In the Midwest the index increased 1.2% to 98.9 and is 18.5% above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South jumped 12.7% to an index of 121.2, which is 28.3% higher than March 2009. In the West the index rose 1.9% to 99.9 and is 8.8% above a year ago.

“Another encouraging sign is the improvement in the availability for jumbo and second-home mortgages,” Yun said. “As bank balance sheets strengthen, it is just a matter of time before lending of non-government-backed mortgages steadily opens up.”

The National Association of Realtors, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is one of America’s largest trade associations, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20% of transactions for existing-home sales. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months. There is a closer relationship between annual index changes (from the same month a year earlier) and year-ago changes in sales performance than with month-to-month comparisons.

An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales.

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Posted by Gail McClendon on May 5th, 2010 2:20 PMPost a Comment (0)