Money magazine’s real estate investing road map

photo credit: ConspiracyofHappiness

Leafting through Money magazine’s ‘Best Places to Live’ report, it’s easy to forget the US is currently going through some of the most frenetic and unpredictable real estate industry changes in its history.

The annual guide is like an Argos catalogue for property investors big and small – a veritable road map to where values increase the fastest and where every middle-American family wants to rest their laurels.

It also throws up some surprising facts and useful pointers to anyone thinking of splashing out in the US market. It can also be a killer to anyone who’s taken a gamble, as it sometimes blows the lid off one or two perceptions of what are genuinely desirable areas.

No banjo jokes allowed

Nicholasville, Kentucky, for example, a place where pretending to twang an imaginary banjo is just not funny, apparently has the most affordable and best value homes in America – according to the report a spread here will set you back just $70,000 (£37,466) on average.

Elsewhere the report shows Hoboken in New Jersey has the most singletons – apparently 58 per cent of the population here are ‘dinner for one’ specialists. The report also shows Marin County, California, is the ’skinniest’ area, where people have an average body mass index of 24.48.

So where is the most desirable place in the US? Plymouth. That’s right, Plymouth, in Minnesota. Not San Diego, downtown New York or the beaches of Miami. Plymouth is the place to be.

Ice cool investors only here

According to Money, its combination of top schools, decent jobs, lack of crime and general niceness make it the best spot to settle. Isn’t this also the state where winter temperatures plummet to around minus 16 degrees centigrade? “Here’s the keys to your new home, and here’s a shovel to dig it out. Good luck.”

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/index.html

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