Best and Worst Markets in the U.S.
And Words That'll Sell Your House

Here's a look at what's new in real-estate markets across the U.S. from around the Web. (Some links may require registration or subscriptions.)

Saying it right to sell

Got a home to sell? Use the right words, and you may find a buyer quicker and for more money, according to a Los Angeles Times article, which summarizes the findings of three separate research studies. One finding is that homes with ads noting "curb appeal" are more effective than those pitching value or price, the paper says. "Beautiful" homes sold 15% faster and for 5% more than properties described as being a "good value," which on average, sold for 5% less, the paper says. The worst word to use in your real-estate listing? "Motivated," according to the Times. Some of the best descriptions to include? "Move-in condition," "landscaping" and "gourmet," the article says.

Best and worst markets in the U.S.

It's time to take off those shades -- the housing market's future isn't so bright, according to CNNMoney.com. The Web site has come out with its real-estate forecast for 2007, with rankings of CNNMoney.com's 100 best and worst real-estate markets in the U.S., as well as consumer tips for coping with the housing slowdown. Next year, 36 of the largest real-estate markets in the U.S. will see price declines; 37 will see price drops in 2008, the Web site says. Ranked as the worst market is Stockton, Calif., where home prices may decrease 7.1% in 2007 and an additional 5.3% in 2008.  Ranked as the best market in the U.S. by CNNMoney.com is McAllen-Mission, Texas (located in Texas's Rio Grande Valley), where home prices are forecasted to increase by 8.5% in 2007 and 9.8% in 2008.

New England is hard hit 

New England -- from Maine to Connecticut -- has been hit harder by the housing slump than any other region in the U.S. and may remain that way for the rest of the decade, a Boston Herald article says. From 1995 to 2004, inflation-adjusted home prices in the region rose 73% versus 44% for the U.S. as a whole, the newspaper says. In Boston, prices nearly doubled during that period, the article says. "The downturn here is more severe because the upswing was so big," the paper quotes a Wellesley College economics professor as saying. Home prices in the region will stay flat through 2010 and will increase less than the 2.1% rate of increase projected for the U.S. as a whole, the paper says.

New-home prices plummet in Sacramento

In Sacramento, Calif., the median price for a new home fell 14.6% to $395,250 in November from the same period the year before, making it less expensive to buy a new home than an existing one, says the San Francisco Chronicle. In the city, the median price for an existing home dropped 4.2% to $345,000 in November from November 2005 -- as homeowners cut prices to compete with home builders, the newspaper says. While the local market --which is "in the midst of a correction after years of overbuilding" -- will eventually recover, it might take three to five years, the Chronicle says. Sacramento's median new-home price reached a height of $476,500 in December 2005, rising from $221,000 five years earlier, while its existing-home median price went from $145,000 to $375,000 in August 2005 during that same five-year period, the paper says.

Record year in Orlando

Despite dramatically slowing sales in Orlando, Fla., the local real-estate market is having its second-best year ever in terms of the number of homes sold, according to a Sun-Sentinel article. Although November had the largest year-over-year percentage drop in 2006 for the number of resale homes sold -- 34% -- the number of homes sold this year through that month (25,371)  was just below 2005's record high -- 31,230 homes, the newspaper says. The median price of residential properties sold in November was 0.04 above November's figure from the previous year, the paper says. In November, home inventory levels in Orlando stood at 13 months' worth -- the highest in almost 11 years, the Sun-Sentinel says. A "comfortable" amount of inventory is six months' worth, the newspaper says. "This glut won't last," the paper quotes one local real-estate agent as saying.

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