See our list of worst spots for education

(Our list was compiled by using a list of the top 100 cities by population, adding in well-known smaller cities too, and removing cities so close to other large cities that they would have similar data. We ranked the best cities for education based on eight educational criteria categories.)

#7: Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis takes the cake for Blue Ribbon schools (19), and has a striking amount of NAEYC-accredited preschools (24). Also notable are the Indiana capitol’s strong math scores.

If you focus only on the averages, life in the typical American town frankly doesn’t seem so hot right now. The median home continues to lose value. Cash-strapped state and local governments are cutting services. And unemployment, at 9.3%, is still high.

But those bummer statistics obscure one important-and encouraging-fact: There are plenty of outliers. MONEY found them through its annual search for the best places in America, which this year focused on the nation’s small cities (those with populations of 50,000 to 300,000). Reporters crunched reams of data to find the optimal combo of job opportunities, fiscal strength, top-notch schools, low crime, good health care, lots to do, and many other factors that help make a town great for raising a family.

And because numbers don’t tell you anything about charm and community spirit, reporters visited 30 of the highest-ranked towns in person. Those that made the cut landed on MONEY’s top 10 list. As you’ll see, these places are anything but average.

Courtesy: City of Eden Prairie

1. Eden Prairie, MN
Population: 64,000
Unemployment: 5.1%
Pluses: Plenty of jobs, very low crime, lots for kids to do
Minus: Long, cold winters

Why is Eden Prairie No. 1 this year? Not only is it family-friendly, it has a dynamite economy too.

At 5.1%, its unemployment rate is nearly one percentage point below the county rate and more than four points below the national average. It helps when you’ve got 50,000 jobs right in town.

MORE AT CNNMONEY.COM

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Major employers include Fortune 500 trucking company C.H. Robinson, hearing-aid maker Starkey Labs, and the Minnesota Vikings, whose practice facility and front office are here. As for fiscal strength, Moody’s gives the town a perfect AAA bond rating.

While it doesn’t have much of a downtown, there’s plenty of outer beauty: from gently rolling hills to 17 lakes that residents flock to year-round for swimming and ice skating. Town parks are laced with 125 miles of running, hiking, and biking trails.

No wonder residents rank among the healthiest people in the nation. Add in top-notch schools and safe streets and you’ve got a place that’s tough to beat.

Courtesy: City of Ellicot City

2. Columbia/Ellicott City, MD
Population: 155,000
Unemployment: 5.2%
Pluses: Booming economy, terrific schools, diversity
Minus: Bad traffic

Ellicott City boasts grand homes, a lovely 18th-century downtown, and lots of restaurants. Columbia offers a wide range of housing, tons of parkland, and a major music venue. But those varied amenities are far from the only reasons this duo has risen to No. 2 from No. 8 in 2008. It’s also an economic powerhouse with a jobless rate just as enviable as Eden Prairie’s.

The nearby National Security Agency and the Fort Meade Army base together account for more than 8,000 jobs, and the government plans to move thousands more positions there by next year.Baltimore and D.C. are within commuting distance (30 and 60 minutes, respectively).

As for housing, the foreclosure rate is one of the lowest in Maryland, yet homes are affordable — by Northeast standards, anyway. Factor in excellent schools and a diverse population (17% of residents are black, 14% Asian), and you can see why this place has become a magnet for families.

Even empty nesters like Alma, 46, and Elmer Gill, 54, who have lived in Columbia for 14 years, appreciate the town’s appeal. Says Alma: “There’s no other place we’d want to live.”

Courtesy: Town of Newton

3. Newton, MA
Population: 82,000
Unemployment: 6.0%
Pluses: Great schools, low crime, strong economy
Minuses: Pricey homes, bad traffic

Less than 45 minutes from downtownBoston via train, subway, or express bus,Newton is divided into 13 “villages” loaded with classic New England charm. Most have pedestrian-friendly shopping districts, parks, and playgrounds.

The town weathered the economic downturn fairly well, thanks to such stable local employers as Boston College and Newton-Wellesley Hospital. And Greater Boston, of course, offers a wealth of health care, education, and government jobs.

Residents rave about the top-ranked schools, and parents are excited for the new high school opening this fall. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” says Claudia Wu, 51, an attorney with three school-age kids who has lived in Newton for 20 years. It should be: The school cost $197 million, an amount that sparked plenty of local outrage.

After all, living in this community is expensive enough: a three-bedroom house runs nearly $600,000. If it weren’t for those hefty price tags, this town would be pretty close to perfect.

Courtesy: Town of Bellevue

4. Bellevue, WA
Population: 124,000
Unemployment: 5.8%
Pluses: Natural beauty, excellent schools, diversity
Minuses: Pricey real estate, rain

If forested cityscapes are your thing, this is your kind of place. Bellevue’s compact downtown bristles with new skyscrapers that seem to hover above Lake Washington — and when the clouds part, mountain views loom.

Real estate isn’t a bargain, but the town’s jobless rate is more than two points below that of theSeattle metro area, thanks to a recent influx of jobs from such employers as Microsoft (which has moved 6,500 positions here), T-Mobile, Verizon, and Expedia. In fact, Bellevue has more jobs than it does residents.

And the population is diverse: Nearly a quarter of residents are Asian, and nearly a third are foreign born.

The town’s high schools consistently land at the top of state rankings; despite school funding cuts throughout Washington, the town has been able to enhance special ed and gifted programs. There’s an embarrassment of arts and entertainment riches, including a philharmonic orchestra, fine arts museum, children’s museum, botanical garden, youth theater, annual jazz festival, and 74 (!) parks.

Courtesy of McKinney CVB/Beth Shumate

5. McKinney, TX
Population: 125,000
Unemployment: 7.8%
Pluses: Affordable homes, charming downtown
Minus: Traffic headaches

Lots of towns near Dallas have low crime, affordable homes, and good jobs; McKinneyis no exception. What makes it stand out is its gem of a downtown. Lovingly restored 19th-century buildings house restaurants, boutiques, and galleries; the 1875 courthouse contains a new performing-arts center.
McKinney’s employment opportunities are robust, sparing many residents a rush-hour drive of up to an hour to Dallas. Defense contractor Raytheon has a 3,700-person division here, and a mix of businesses in financial services, medical technology, and eco-friendly manufacturing are moving in.

Though McKinney has grown like mad over the past decade, you’d never suspect it when driving through its tree-filled communities surrounded by ponds, parks, and hiking trails. Residents say the town has handled the influx well, building plenty of new schools and hospitals.

And the relatively low real-estate prices thrill transplants from more expensive locales: A five-bedroom house, with a pool, set on a golf course might go for $440,000, and you can find homes for a third as much.

Courtesy of Fort Collins/Ryan Burke

6. Fort Collins, CO
Population: 141,000
Unemployment: 7.4%
Pluses: Outdoor activities, steady economy
Minus: School budget cuts

Bikers and beers. In most parts of the country, those two elements may be reasons to move elsewhere. But in the foothills of Colorado’s Front Range, bikers mean cyclists: Fort Collins has 29 miles of well-used trails.

As for beers, this town has become a high-end microbrew mecca. New Belgium Brewery (maker of Fat Tire) is based in this entrepreneurial town, and competitors are moving in.

People here aren’t slackers either. Bolstered by Colorado State University, which employs 7,000, “the Fort” is a center of economic activity. Hewlett-Packard, the city’s second-largest employer, announced worldwide layoffs in June, but they won’t affect Fort Collins. In fact, the company is adding jobs here.

This idyllic town — No. 1 in 2006 — would rank even higher but for one thing. (No, it’s not last summer’s Balloon Boy hoax, perpetrated by the local Heene family.) Colorado schools are hurting. After the state sliced public schools budget this year, Fort Collins’s Poudre School District laid off 139 full-time employees.

Courtesy of City Overland Park

7. Overland Park, KS
Population: 175,000
Unemployment: 5.3%
Pluses: Good schools, low cost of living
Minuses: Some job losses, not much excitement

Ask residents why they chose this Kansas City suburb and you hear one thing over and over: the schools.

Other draws include a 300-acre arboretum and botanical garden, a biweekly farmers’ market, and a brand-new 12-field soccer complex, which hosts local and national tournaments.

Overland Park’s biggest challenge in recent years has been from its largest employer, Sprint. The company laid off more than 3,000 people here from 2007 to 2009.

But the town has had enough success attracting new employers that its jobless rate is still well below the national average. What’s more, a division of J.P. Morgan plans to move 800 positions here early next year.

Courtesy of Town Fishers

8. Fishers, IN
Population: 69,000
Unemployment: 6.2%
Pluses: Very low crime, inexpensive homes
Minus: Short on charm

This Indiana town offers a winning combination of low-cost houses (you can snag a three-bedroom for less than $150,000), easy access to the big city, and good schools.

Plus, Fishers is booming. Development abounds and fully 1,600 jobs were created here last year; major employers include Sallie Mae and medical device firm Roche Diagnostics.

True, Fishers will never put anyone in mind of a quaint New England village. But thanks to its myriad advantages, including lots of community spirit, residents aren’t complaining.

Sums up Debra O’Donnell, 46, a mother of two: “It’s very easy to live here.”

Courtesy of Iowa State University

9. Ames, IA
Population: 60,000
Unemployment: 4.3%
Pluses: Jobs galore, welcoming vibe
Minus: Cold winters

Unemployment at 4.3%? That’s not a misprint: Ames is the home of Iowa State University, which employs 9,000, and there are lots of biotech and agriculture jobs nearby. Like many states, Iowa has trimmed university funding, but the school has not had to make drastic cuts.

If the people who live here get bored, they have only themselves to blame. Besides Iowa State’s cultural and athletic offerings, Ames boasts 36 parks, a bustling shopping district, and a new aquatic center.

Sports are big in this town: The high school boys basketball team, girls tennis team, and girls golf team are state champions. But the friendliness of the community is what newcomers tend to remark upon most.

Says Craig McFarland, 55, a financial adviser who moved here with his family in 2006: “Our first day, a neighbor came over with cookies.”

Courtesy of Rogers-Lowell Area Chambers of Commerce

10. Rogers, AR
Population: 57,000
Unemployment: 5.8%
Pluses: Low cost of living, diversity
Minus: Strip malls

If you’re inclined to dismiss a small city in Arkansas as a backwater, you’re making a big mistake. Rogers is right next door toBentonville, where Wal-Mart is headquartered.

Given the power of the retail behemoth, many Fortune 500 firms that sell it their wares have moved executives to the area. Lots of them have settled in Rogers, giving it a cosmopolitan feel. (Wal-Mart’s CEO, Mike Duke, also callsRogers home.)

They’re drawn by top-notch schools and outdoor activities, including swimming and wakeboarding on the town’s two lakes and golfing on its five courses.

(Not all is picture perfect: Rogers does contain some rundown areas.) Though Wal-Mart has had layoffs in recent years, the jobless rate here remains low.

See the full list of the 100 Best Places to Live in America

Les Christie, staff writer, CNNMoney.com

May 21st, 2010

Top 5 Most Affordable Cities

1. (tie): Indianapolis

Median home price: $96,000
Median income: $68,700
Affordability score: 94.9%

America’s most affordable housing market is the 33rd largest metro area in the United States, with 1.7 million people.

The median family income is fairly high — $68,700 — and median home prices are a very reasonable $96,000, according to the National Association of Homebuilders and Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.

Helping keep home prices depressed is a fairly virulent foreclosure plague: There were more than 18,400 properties with foreclosure filings during 2009.

The turmoil in the auto industry, which Indianapolis had been closely associated with, has hurt the city. But increased diversification, which has made pharmaceutical companies, banks government agencies and insurers all important employers, has helped keep job losses in check. The unemployment rate was 9.5% in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly matching the national rate of 9.7% that month.

2. (tie): Youngstown, Ohio

Median home price: $69,000
Median income: $53,500
Affordability score: 94.9%

Youngstown was a vibrant, wealthy steel city for many decades. Workers there were paid some of the highest factory wages anywhere.

But the mill closings of the late 1970s devastated the area’s economy, and about 40,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost. In March, 14% of workers in the area were idle.

As jobs vanished, the area’s population shrank, leaving lots of vacant homes for sale — from very modest row houses to huge mansions. That helps keep the median home price in the metro area very low — and boosts Youngstown’s affordability score.

Low interest rates also help. Financing 80% of a $69,000 home with a 30-year, fixed rate mortgage at 5% would result in a monthly payment of $296. At those kinds of prices, renters soon become homebuyers.

3. Syracuse, N.Y.

Median home price: $95,000
Median income: $64,300
Affordability score: 94.5%

A newcomer to the list, Syracuse is one of the many Upstate New York cities that grew up along the route of the Erie Canal, which made them wealthy. Syracuse’s importance as a transportation hub continues to this day, with two major interstates crossing here.

Much of the area’s economic base depended on manufacturing, and many of those industries have declined. While the metro area’s population has expanded modestly, the core city has shrunk to fewer than 140,000 from a post-war high of 220,000. That shrinkage means there’s much housing stock, keeping home prices very low.

The economy slowed during the recession and unemployment grew, but the rate — 8.5% during March — is still lower than the national average.

4. Dayton, Ohio

Median home price: $88,000
Median income: $61,700
Affordability score: 94.4%

The hometown of Wilbur and Orville Wright, Dayton still hosts a significant aerospace industry centered on the Wright-Paterson Air Force base

But the decline of heavy industry — including last year’s loss of the headquarters for NCR Corp., the old National Cash Register Co., to Duluth, Ga. — has pushed the city toward the service economy for job growth. That has not stemmed the unemployment tide; the rate stood at 12.3% in March.

The core city’s population has dropped from a peak of more than 260,000 in 1960 to about 150,000 today. The metro area population has also dropped slightly over the past 10 years, according to Census Bureau estimates.

That has lessened demand for homes and helped keep prices low; the median has hovered around $100,000, more or less, the entire decade. At the same time, median income has grown from about $55,000 to more than $62,000. That increase, coupled with very low mortgage rates, made home buying extremely affordable.

5: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Median home price: $102,000
Median income: $62,500
Affordability score: 93.7%

This medium-sized, western Michigan city flourished during the 19th century by turning nearby hardwood forests into furniture. Golden oak cabinets, dining tables and chairs once crafted in the area can now be spotted in many an antique store around the nation. Today, it still is a leading manufacturer of office furniture.

The metro area, like much of the industrial Midwest, has seen better days. Besides furniture, it also had a robust auto manufacturing base, which has declined along with the rest of the industry. Grand Rapids economy is now more diversified with health services an important employer. Still, many people are out of work; the metro area’s 12.8% unemployment rate is more than three percentage points higher than the national average.

The people who are employed make decent wages, over $62,000 for the median household, more than enough to afford a nice house.

There are many hundreds of homes for sale in the metro area for less than $90,000.

Top 5 Least Affordable Cities

1. New York

Median home price: $426,000
Median income: $65,600
Affordability score: 20.9%

Home prices can be staggeringly high in the New York City metro area, but median income is not commensurately high; it’s under $65,000. That combo makes this the country’s least affordable major metro area.

Affordability has improved lately: The median home price has fallen from about $500,000 at the market peak, and more properties are within reach now that mortgage rates are near historic lows.

After holding up better and longer than most housing markets, sales and prices around New York City have started to experience greater declines. The market is highly influenced by what’s happening on Wall Street; when financial markets sneeze, the real estate industry says “God bless you” with feeling.

Financial markets have stabilized a bit lately and investment banks are paying out bonuses. That could hasten a housing market recovery in the metro area.

2. San Francisco

Median home price: $585,000
Median income: $98,400
Affordability score: 23.4%

Home prices in the Bay Area rose during the last three months of 2009, dropping the percentage of affordable homes sold to 23.4.

Still, prices are way off from the heady days of 2006, when a median-priced house sold for $769,000, according to the NAHB-Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. Now the median home is only $585,000.

It’s a good thing the area’s median income comes to a whopping $98,400, among the highest in the nation. Unemployment, however, is growing, and the 11% rate for the metro area puts it well above the national average.

That has contributed to the foreclosures that continue to plague the Bay Area. RealtyTrac figures show a total of more than 54,000 homes with filings in 2009.

3. Honolulu

Median home price: $403,000
Median income: $81,700
Affordability score: 34.7%

The biggest city and metro area in the Aloha State has been an expensive place to live for decades; little developable land and the need to import building materials from far away helped inflate home prices.

Median home prices have bounced around a lot, topping out at around $585,000 during the last three months of 2007 and dropping to $360,000 in the first quarter of 2009. They bounced back to $403,000 in early 2010.

The economy is as heavily dependent on tourism as any American city, and that industry has suffered as more Americans think twice about taking expensive vacations. Hotel occupancy rates declined for 18 consecutive months before starting to rise again last September. They have been up nearly every month since.

The metro area’s official unemployment rate stood at just 5.6% in March, well below the national average.

Foreclosures have been a mild but rapidly increasing problem, with just 3,985 properties having a foreclosure filings during 2009, according to RealtyTrac. That was 128th among 203 metro areas covered. That represented, however, a 671% increase over 2008.

If that trend continues, it could unleash a host of distressed properties on the market, which should bring down prices and raise affordability.

4. Santa Ana, Calif.

Median home price: $410,000
Median income: $87,300
Affordability score: 34.5%

Many of the booming Orange County economies were driven by the once-swelling housing bubble. Thousands of jobs were created in construction, the real estate industry, retail and mortgage lending. Once that bubble burst, a lot of these jobs disappeared.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts Santa Ana as part of the Los Angeles metro area for calculating unemployment rate and that, at 11.7% in March, was above the national average. Home prices have dropped substantially from the high they hit back in mid-2006, when the median Santa Ana home sold for $630,000. Prices have plummeted since; in the first three months of 2009, the median price was just $410,000. That caused affordability to improve but still only 34.5% of the homes sold were comfortably open to median-income earners.

5: Los Angeles

Median home price: $306,000
Median income: $62,900
Affordability score: 35.9%

As the post-war City of Angels filled in and up, with the population exploding to nearly 4 million in town and 13 million in the metro area, the area has mostly run out of land to build on. That has led to much higher development costs and home prices.

Still, L.A. values have fallen far from the bubble years, off nearly 40% since mid-2006. Affordability is improved as well, with 35.9% of homes sold falling in a range that median income earners could comfortably pay for.

With prices much lower and unemployment at 11.7%, many area homeowners are having a tough time staying out of foreclosure; there were filings on nearly 176,000 homes last year, the highest total for any metro area.

All those properties coming back on the market has depressed prices that would otherwise be far less affordable than they are now.

Read more about where home prices are most affordable.

To be considered for the list, a community is nominated at RelocateAmerica.com. From the thousands of submissions, RelocateAmerica.com’s editorial team reviews the nominations and selects the Top 100 Places to Live, as well as the Top 10 for each smaller category, based on interviews with local leaders; feedback from residents; and economic, environmental, education, crime, employment and housing data for the past year.

“Given the tough economic times our nation is facing, homebuyers have re-evaluated their priorities and are looking to relocate to communities that offer plenty of perks, but minimal hassle and cost,” said Peter Meyers, Vice President, Research and Content Development, at RelocateAmerica.com. “While some cities are facing a road to recovery that could take years, others are poised for a quick rebound – and already have seen growth. We wanted to highlight those cities that are on the road back to economic health.”

This marks one of several national awards the town has received in 2010. The following is a list of accolades:

• Best Place to Raise Your Kids – BusinessWeek.com
• #1 Best Affordable Suburb in U.S.- BusinessWeek.com
• #2 Best Under-rated Golf Community in U.S. - Livability.com
• Healthiest County in Indiana - Community Health Network
• Top 100 Places to Live in 2010  - RelocateAmerica

Fishers, Indiana

When most buyers start looking for house, they start on the Internet. If the buyer uses a generic site like Realtor.com, most every home is listed by a different agent. So if ten homes make the buyers short list, up to ten different agents might be called, each offering to show their property. This also happens with drive-by searching. Agents never mind showing their own property because of the possibility of “double dipping” on the commission. Meaning they would earn both the listing side of the commission and the buyers side of the commission. Of course a buyer is ultimately going to work with only one buyer’s agent per transaction which means the other nine (or however many were called) won’t make a dime. This is both frustrating and unfair to agents and is not good for the buyer either.

A buyer should never use the listing agent as their buyer’s agent. The simple reason being a conflict of interest. You wouldn’t hire the prosecuting attorney if you were the defendant in a legal battle would you? Of course not. In real estate, the listing agent typically has a natural allegiance with the home seller. If that’s the case, they will not be looking out for the buyers best interest, instead, looking out for the seller first and foremost.

A major advantage to woking with one agent is they get to know the buyers needs. The best way to figure out what a buyer wants is to go home shopping with them. After looking at several homes together, the agent will see first hand what’s most important to the buyers. This can go a long way in finding the ideal home. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to point out a pattern that buyers can simply overlook.

Having a single contact for every home and every question you have as a buyer is much easier than scattering your focus among multiple agents. Odds are, you still have to go to work everyday and your house shopping is being done in your “spare” time. Keep your life as simple as possible having one number to call every time.

When you find a good agent, stick with them. This is easier said then done. One recommendation is to use a full time agent. That’s the first indicator they are likely a cut above the majority. If the agent is reliable, experienced and is responsive to your needs then stick with them. They will be thankful you did and will be aptly rewarded at closing.

Happy Home Hunting!

The Buyer / Seller Split: Using 6% (or $12,000) of the selling price on a $200,000 home as an example, here is a breakdown of how the commission could be split: Often the listing broker offers half of the total commission (3%) to a buyers agent. (I’ve seen 70/30, 60/40 and 50/50 splits however.) So if a commission were 6% of the sales price, the listing broker would make 3% or $6,000 and the buyers broker would make the other $6,000.

The Agent / Broker Split: The above example would be pretty easy if that was it, but their’s more… Real Estate brokers take responsibility for real estate agents transactions. Brokers have additional training and minimum mandatory time spent as an agent before they can get their brokers license. Agents are typically independent contractors and all must have their license “held” by a broker. Agents typically have to split their commission with the brokerage who’s holding their license. This split can be vary drastically and often depends on whether a monthly “desk” fee is part of the equation. Since most new agents can’t afford a desk fee, they take a less favorable commission split. The biggest split I’m aware of is 47/53 with the agent receiving the 47%. I’ve seen seasoned professional agents make up to 94% of their commission however paying a $2,000/month “desk” fee is not uncommon. To keep things simple, I’ll use a 70/30 agent to broker split on both sides of this example. Here is how the break down looks now: Both listing and buying brokers earn 3% or $6,000 each. The listing split at 70/30 would mean the agent earns $4,200 (70%) and the broker earns $1,800 (30%).

By Venessa Wong, BusinessWeek

Mar 3rd, 2010

Life with children is expensive, but in some places a dollar goes a lot further. Bloomberg BusinessWeek evaluated information provided by community data company OnBoard Informatics to determine the best affordable suburb in each state.

While many of the places on this year’s list are near amenities such as country clubs and golf courses, the focus is not luxury, but rather communities where families can live well for less and enjoy good schools, low crime, and reasonable commutes. The selected suburbs were limited to towns within 25 miles of the most populated city in the state, with populations of 5,000 to 60,000, median family incomes of $51,000 to $120,000, and lower-than-average crime rates. We weighted a variety of factors including livability (short commutes, low pollution, green space), education (well-educated residents, high test scores), crime (low personal and property crime), economy (high job growth, low unemployment rate, high family income), and affordability (median household income, cost of expenditures). Affordability was most heavily weighted in our calculations. We penalized places with bad weather, a lack of racial diversity, high divorce rates, and few children.

The results range from established high-income neighborhoods to growing middle-income communities. For example, the smallest town on the list, Cave Creek, Ariz., has a population of about 5,000 and a median family income of $108,546, while Moore, Okla., one of the largest, has more than 51,000 residents and a median income of $63,309, according to OnBoard’s estimates. Despite their differences, all these places offer young families an attractive location to raise children and remain close to employment opportunities

Top 10 Best Affordable Suburbs in America

1. Fishers, Ind.
Nearest major city: Indianapolis
Population: 58,856
Median family income: $108,086
Median home price: $174,438
Unemployment rate: 6.5%
Violent crime index: 12

With reasonable property prices, an unemployment rate lower than average, and a good grade for safety, Fishers is the best affordable suburb overall in this year’s survey. The school district here has grown in recent years to accommodate the expanding population, and now includes 12 elementary schools, several intermediate and junior high schools, and two high schools. The town, on the West Fork of the White River, has 12 developed parks, five undeveloped sites totaling 152 acres, and more than 65 miles of multipurpose trail.

2. Papillion, Neb.
Nearest major city: Omaha
Population: 16,428
Median family income: $92,077
Median home price: $145,000
Unemployment rate: 4.5%
Violent crime index: 13

Papillion was one of the best affordable suburbs overall on this year’s list. Golf courses, nature trails, parks, and recreational opportunities near Papio Creek and Walnut Creek can be found. Many residents of this bedroom community commute to Omaha, about 20 minutes away. Students in the Papillion area score above the national and Nebraska average on the American College Test, according to the city’s Web site.

3. Mililani Town, Hawaii
Nearest major city: Honolulu
Population: 26,790
Median family income: $98,384
Median home price: $370,000
Unemployment rate: 5.3%
Violent crime index: 3

This planned community has a golf course, tech park, community centers, and shopping malls. There are several schools in this upper-middle-class area, which serves as a bedroom community for Honolulu. The area also has upscale communities, such as Mililani Mauka, and a very low crime rate. It was considered by Money magazine to be one of the best places to live in 2005.

4. Huntersville, N.C.
Nearest major city: Charlotte
Population: 43,917
Median family income: $103,394
Median home price: $205,500
Unemployment rate: 11.2%
Violent crime index: 25

A fast-growing suburb 10 miles from Charlotte, Huntersville is located along Lake Norman, a manmade lake with 520 miles of shoreline. There is an entertainment and shopping center, nature preserve, and amusement park, and the mountains and beach are a short drive away. Education here is also exceptional: Huntersville Elementary School earned a Blue Ribbon Award in 2008.

5. Montgomeryville, Pa.
Nearest major city: Philadelphia
Population: 11,848
Median family income: $108,071
Median home price: $258,750
Unemployment rate: 6.8%
Violent crime index: 11

Shopping is plentiful in Montgomeryville. There are several malls in the vicinity, including the Water Tower Square Shopping Center and the Montgomeryville Five Points Plaza Shopping Center, located near Five Points, the spot where five roads intersect. The upper-middle-class neighborhood also has outdoor amenities like its own golf course and is constructing a new trail system. The area’s schools are part of the North Penn School District.

6. Hales Corners, Wis.
Nearest major city: Milwaukee
Population: 8,235
Median family income: $83,179
Median home price: $198,000
Unemployment rate: 9.3%
Violent crime index: 12

This village, only 3.2 miles square, provides residents with access to shopping centers, two pools in the Hales Corners County Park, Whitnall Park Golf Course, Boerner Botanical Gardens, and Wehr Nature Center. It is a short drive to General Mitchell International Airport and the shore of Lake Michigan. It is part of the Whitnall School District, which has four public schools and a charter school.

7. Roxborough Park, Colo.
Nearest major city: Denver
Population: 8,211
Median family income: $94,084
Median home price: $230,000
Unemployment rate: 5.9%
Violent crime index: 16

The red rock formations near Roxborough Park, a community that developed in the 1970s, are considered some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in Colorado. The 3,339-acre state park offers residents hiking and biking trails, cross-country skiing, and educational programs for Colorado geology and wildlife. The Douglas County School District is one of the best in the state.

8. Brandon, S.D.
Nearest major city: Sioux Falls
Population: 9,056
Median family income: $79,040
Median home price: $138,400
Unemployment rate: 4.8%
Violent crime index: 21

Nature parks, wineries, a speedway, and golf courses are some of the amenities enjoyed by the residents of Brandon, a fast-growing suburb of Sioux Falls. The Brandon Valley School District has a few elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. About 40% of residents are married with children and the average commute is 19 minutes.

9. Savage, Minn.
Nearest major city: Minneapolis
Population: 27,976
Median family income: $102,025
Median home price: $213,750
Unemployment rate: 7.3%
Violent crime index: 28

The residents of this green suburb enjoy 304 acres of city-managed park space and more than 2,400 acres of state and county-managed parkland. South of Minneapolis near the Minnesota River, Savage is in one of the state’s fastest-growing areas, Scott County. About 57% of residents here are married with children, according to OnBoard. Savage is part of three school districts: Prior Lake-Savage, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage, and Shakopee.

10. Clark, N.J.
Nearest major city: Newark
Population: 13,862
Median family income: $97,668
Median home price: $380,500
Unemployment rate: 9.7%
Violent crime index: 4

Formerly a farm community, Clark has grown into a popular suburb at nearly full capacity of occupied land, according to the town Web site. Its school district has a preschool, two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. Clark is near several medical centers in neighboring communities. Amenities include a golf complex, community pool, tennis courts, and parks. A new ranking by Monmouth University’s Polling Institute named Clark one of the state’s best places to live, according to a report on njtoday.net.

Homeowners should buck the conventional wisdom about selling in the spring.

Putting a home on the market in this grim real-estate climate might seem like lunacy considering how heavily the market favors buyers. Home prices are down 28% from their national peak in the second quarter of 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which tracks sales in 20 major housing markets. Still, listing a home during certain months can improve a seller’s odds.

See More: The Best Time Of Year To Sell A Home

Late spring and summer are usually thought of as the best times to put a home on the market because buyer demand builds steadily through spring. Sales then peak during the warmest months, when it’s easiest for families to move without uprooting their children from school. But this year, experts predict that the selling boom, which normally starts in spring, will hit at a different time than it has in the past. Sellers with flexibility should market their homes earlier in the year.

According to data from Zillow.com, an online real-estate database, the volume of home sales was highest in June, July or August every year since 2000. This year, however, an $8,000 credit for those buying their first home–that expires on June 30, 2010 and requires buyers to have closed on a home by April 30, 2010–will force buyers to speed up their decisions. Historically low interest rates also suggest that sellers will face a busier market as early as February.

“This year, we’re anticipating sales will peak earlier,” says Nicole Hall, editor in chief of Lendingtree.com, an online mortgage comparison service. “The best time to get your house on the market will be February or early March, and maybe even earlier if you want to avoid competition.”

The Economy Upsets Seasonal Trends

House hunting may have traditionally sped up after March, but nothing about the last few years in real estate has been traditional. In 2008, sales failed to pick up with their usual gusto in late winter because the financial crisis cast a shadow of fear over buyers, and lending seized up.

“Between the fall of 2008 and March of 2009, there was a long dead period in real estate,” says Ken Shuman, spokesman for the real estate Web site Trulia.com. “You don’t want to buy a house if you don’t have job security, and a lot of people had jobs but didn’t feel too secure about them.”

2009 didn’t follow typical trends, either. Fall, when sales usually plummet, saw more sales activity than usual this year because of the introduction of the government’s tax credit, which was initially set to expire on Nov. 30, 2009.

Improving the Odds

Granted, some sellers have no choice but to sell at a slow time of year. Job relocation and the need to free up assets are facts of life that can deprive families of the luxury of waiting until the peonies bloom to put their homes on the market.

But Hall says that there are ways to improve your chances of a sale if you have to list your home late in the year, like playing up holiday decorations and shoveling walkways tomaximize curb appeal. She adds that selling at this point in the cycle isn’t always the worst fate.

“Look at how you can turn it to your advantage. Maybe because you’re forced to sell at a different time, there will be less competition,” she says. “Also, be realistic about your price. If you know you’re selling at a tough time, it can be a tough call, but you might have to drop that price a little.”

Shuman and Hall agree that the season shouldn’t be the only factor homeowners consider when getting ready to sell. Paying attention to the vagaries of the local real-estate market, where inventory and prices can fluctuate week to week, will offer more guidance to sellers than simple seasonal trends.

“Check out your local inventory,” says Hall. “Read the housing-market blogs, follow the local market really carefully, and look at the unemployment rate. That will make a big difference.”

For smart sellers, Shuman and Hall agree, taking a chance and starting the sale process earlier will reap distinct benefits in 2010.

“The beginning of the year is going to be make-it-or-break-it,” says Shuman. “If you’re a seller, get your property listed as early in the year as you can.”

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Stacy Williams owns a three-bedroom house with a full basement and central air-conditioning in a quiet neighborhood on the upper west side of Youngstown, Ohio.Williams, now 33, was earning $8.05 an hour as a manager at McDonald’s when she moved into the house with her husband, a laborer at a construction equipment manufacturer, and son back in 2004. The couple’s combined annual salary was $33,000. But the purchase didn’t require much of a financial stretch: The house cost $48,000. “If you have the credit score to do it, there’s nothing that can stop you from buying a home in Youngstown,” said Williams, whose plans for the house include a second bathroom.

A fallout from the real estate slump is that once again many homeowners are forced to look for homes that are within their budget. Access to cheap adjustable-rate mortgages gave many Americans the chance to live in homes that under normal circumstances they could have never afforded. People such as the Williamses are lucky that their income matches up well with the average home prices in Youngstown, but if they had lived somewhere more expensive, they might not have been able to buy their own home or would have spent too much, and now could have been facing the prospect of foreclosure.

So what metro areas are most and least affordable? The Youngstown metro area, which has a median income of $52,000 and a median home price of $77,000, is the second most affordable metro area in the U.S., according to the new National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) for the second quarter. BusinessWeek.com used the index to rank the 10 most affordable and 10 least affordable major metros based on incomes and home prices. Indianapolis was the most affordable—91.6% of homes sold in the second quarter could be afforded by median-income households. The least affordable was the New York City-White Plains (N.Y.)-Wayne (N.J.) metro area, where only 11.4% of homes are affordable to median-income earners. (A decade ago, 66.4% of New York-area homes were affordable).

Affordable Youngstown

Stacy Williams owns a three-bedroom house with a full basement and central air-conditioning in a quiet neighborhood on the upper west side of Youngstown, Ohio.

Williams, now 33, was earning $8.05 an hour as a manager at McDonald’s when she moved into the house with her husband, a laborer at a construction equipment manufacturer, and son back in 2004. The couple’s combined annual salary was $33,000. But the purchase didn’t require much of a financial stretch: The house cost $48,000. “If you have the credit score to do it, there’s nothing that can stop you from buying a home in Youngstown,” said Williams, whose plans for the house include a second bathroom.

A fallout from the real estate slump is that once again many homeowners are forced to look for homes that are within their budget. Access to cheap adjustable-rate mortgages gave many Americans the chance to live in homes that under normal circumstances they could have never afforded. People such as the Williamses are lucky that their income matches up well with the average home prices in Youngstown, but if they had lived somewhere more expensive, they might not have been able to buy their own home or would have spent too much, and now could have been facing the prospect of foreclosure.

So what metro areas are most and least affordable? The Youngstown metro area, which has a median income of $52,000 and a median home price of $77,000, is the second most affordable metro area in the U.S., according to the new National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) for the second quarter. BusinessWeek.com used the index to rank the 10 most affordable and 10 least affordable major metros based on incomes and home prices. Indianapolis was the most affordable—91.6% of homes sold in the second quarter could be afforded by median-income households. The least affordable was the New York City-White Plains (N.Y.)-Wayne (N.J.) metro area, where only 11.4% of homes are affordable to median-income earners. (A decade ago, 66.4% of New York-area homes were affordable).

Buyer’s Blues in New York

Longtime Manhattan renters Olive Hayes, 64, a New York City nurse, and her husband, Kevin, a Verizon employee, were hoping to spend no more than $450,000 when they started looking for a house more than a year ago. Hayes said she wanted a large apartment with a terrace and a separate living room and dining room. They wanted to buy, in part, because Hayes plans to retire and they will have to give up the spacious two-bedroom apartment they rent from the hospital. It’s located in a doorman building overlooking the East River on 96th Street and First Avenue.

On Aug. 25, the Hayeses closed on a one-bedroom pad in a newly built condo building eight blocks north of their current home. It doesn’t have a terrace and is about 764 square feet, much smaller than what Olive Hayes had originally hoped for. It’s going to be a tight fit for her plants and piano. “It’s not easy. It would probably be $1.5 million for what I’m used to,” she said.

Hayes’ agent, Lynda D. Gray of Bellmarc Realty, said first-time buyers in New York often have to lower their expectations and stretch their finances. “The motivator is the investment,” she said. “You’re not going to have as much space as you like…but you’re going to be able to sell for a profit and possibly buy something outside of the city.”

The 10 Most Affordable Housing Markets

1. Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind.
Median home price: $108,000
Median household income: $65,100
Share of homes affordable to median-income families: 91.6%
Share of affordable homes in Q2 1998: 73.1%

2. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.
Median home price: $77,000
Median household income: $52,000
Share of homes affordable to median-income families: 90.1% 
Share of affordable homes in Q2 1998: 80.1%

Wikimedia.org/Andrew Balet

Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn

3. Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.
Median home price: $92,000
Median household income: $54,400 
Share of homes affordable to median-income families: 88.4%
Share of affordable homes in Q2 1998: 62.8%

4. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich.
Median home price: $140,000
Median household income: $78,800 
Share of homes affordable to median-income families: 86.8%
Share of affordable homes in Q2 1998: N/A

5. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.
Median home price: $112,000 
Median household income: $59,200
Share of homes affordable to median-income families: 86.3% 
Share of affordable homes in Q2 1998: 74.8%

Wikimedia.org/Joel Rossol

Toledo

6. Toledo, Ohio

Median home price: $104,000
Median household income: $60,100 
Share of homes affordable to median-income families: 85.5%
Share of affordable homes in Q2 1998: 77.3%

7. Dayton, Ohio
Median home price: $102,000 
Median household income: $59,800 
Share of homes affordable to median-income families: 85.4% 
Share of affordable homes in Q2 1998: 83.8%

8. Akron, Ohio
Median home price: $100,000 
Median household income: $61,700 
Share of homes affordable to median-income families: 84.5%
Share of affordable homes in Q2 1998: 69.6%

Syracuse

9. Syracuse, N.Y.

Median home price: $98,000
Median household income: $61,000 
Share of homes affordable to median-income families: 84.2%
Share of affordable homes in Q2 1998: 83.6%

10. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Median home price: $91,000 
Median household income: $54,700 
Share of homes affordable to median-income families: 82.5%
Share of affordable homes in Q2 1998: N/A

View the 10 least affordable housing markets.