Fall River, New Bedford and Prov Rank Among Worst for Real Estate
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
GoLocalProv News Team
Fall River, New Bedford and Providence each rank among the worst in the country for real estate.
"Citing U.S. Census Bureau data, the New York Times recently reported that sales of new single-family homes were higher this past July than in nearly 10 years. Nationwide, which tracks the health of U.S. real estate, reported at the end of quarter two that “the overall U.S. housing market is sustainable,” adding that “few regional housing markets are vulnerable to a housing downturn," said WalletHub.
According to the study, Fall River ranks as the worst of the three at 294th, New Bedford ranks 289th and Providence ranks as the best of the three cities at 266th.
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Fall River ranks 291st in real estate market and 299th in affordability and economic environment, New Bedford ranks 284th in real estate market and 288th in affordability and economic environment.
Providence ranks 250th in real estate market and 267th in affordability and economic environment.
The Rankings
Providence ranks 266th behind North Las Vegas, Nevada and Albuquerque, New Mexico and 264 and 265, while ranking ahead of West Palm Beach, Florida and Lakeland, Florida at 267 and 268 respectively.
New Bedford ranks 289th behind Dayton, Ohio and Bridgeport, Connecticut at 287 and 288, while ranking ahead of Rockford, Illinois and Baltimore, Maryland at 290 and 291 respectively.
Fall River ranks 294th behind Warterbury, Connecticut and Hartford, Connecticut at 292 and 293, while ranking ahead of Flint, Michigan and Cleveland, Ohio at 295 and 296.
Newark, New Jersey is listed as the worst city for real estate, while Frisco, Texas is listed as the best city.
For complete rankings, see the map below.
The Method
WalletHub’s analysts compared 300 cities across two dimensions, “Real-Estate Market” and “Affordability & Economic Environment.” They evaluated the categories using 16 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the healthiest housing market.
WalletHub then calculated overall scores for each city using the weighted average across all metrics, which they used to construct the final ranking.
WalletHub categorized the cities based on the following population sizes:
- Large cities: More than 300,000 people
- Midsize cities: 150,000 to 300,000 people
- Small cities: Fewer than 150,000 people
Real-Estate Market – Total Points: 80
- Percentage of Homes Underwater: Full Weight (~7.27 Points)
- Note: This metric measures the percentage of homes with negative equity.
- Average Number of Days Until a House Is Sold: Full Weight (~7.27 Points)
- Percentage of Homes Selling for a Gain: Full Weight (~7.27 Points)
- Median Home-Price Appreciation: Full Weight (~7.27 Points)
- Home Sales Turnover Rate: Full Weight (~7.27 Points)
- Rent-to-Sale Price Ratio: Full Weight (~7.27 Points)
- Foreclosure Rate: Full Weight (~7.27 Points)
- Mortgage Delinquency Rate: Full Weight (~7.27 Points)
- Note: This metric measures the percentage of home owners who are delinquent on their mortgages.
- Number of Bank-Held Homes: Full Weight (~7.27 Points)
- Note: This metric refers to unsold Real Estate Owned, or REO, housing units.
- Vacancy Rate: Full Weight (~7.27 Points)
- Note: This metric was calculated by dividing the number of vacant housing units by the total number of housing units.
- Building-Permit Activity: Full Weight (~7.27 Points)
- Note: This metric measures the number of unit permits pulled per 1,000 residents.
Affordability & Economic Environment – Total Points: 20
- Housing Affordability: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
- Note: This metric measures home price as a percentage of income.
- Maintenance Affordability: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
- Note: This metric measures maintenance costs as a percentage of income.
- Population Growth Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
- Job Growth Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
- Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
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