Biggest Price Gains Expected in California, Florida

Biggest Price Gains Expected in California, Florida

(May 12, 2006) -- Not all financial analysts think housing prices are going to drop. Some, like Michael Youngblood, say prices in many areas are on the way up.

Youngblood, managing director of asset-backed securities research at Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. in Arlington, Va., told Business Week that the housing market is a lot stronger than most people think due to job market strength and higher personal incomes.

He examined 379 markets and found bubbles in only 75 of them, including New York city, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Phoenix, Honolulu and Tacoma, Wash.

Home prices are likely to rise in far more markets, he predicts. He expects the largest gains in Bakersfield, Calif. (43 percent), Fort Myers, Fla. (42 percent), Stockton, Calif. (39 percent), and Punta Gorda, Fla. (35 percent).

Areas where prices are likely to fall because they are losing jobs include Harrisburg, Pa.; Odessa, Tex.; Roanoke, Va.; and Utica, N.Y.

Source: Business Week (05/15/2006)