Housing Boom Relocates to New Markets Extracting Equity U.S. homeowners are cashing out through mortgage refinancing By Steve Kerch Many cities that missed out on hot home sales over the past few years are now getting a taste of the frenzy. "The housing coin has flipped," says NAR chief economist David Lereah. "The haves and the have-nots reversed places." Ask Don Bruemmer, a practitioner with Ramsey Group Real Estate in Salt Lake City, and he'll tell you sales are the best in years. Salt Lake City is one of the metros that seemed to be in the doldrums during many of the boom years while markets in California, Florida, and Washington, D.C., soared. “The housing coin has flipped — sales are softening in (former) boom cities and gaining momentum in non-boom cities," says David Lereah, chief economist for the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. "It appears the haves and the have-nots have reversed places. Quite simply, affordable metros are in favor and unaffordable metros are experiencing a correction.” Denver, Houston, and Albuquerque, N.M., also are experiencing resurgence in sales. “What all four of these metros have in common is a healthy local economy and affordable housing prices," says Lereah. "It’s becoming increasingly clear that in the aftermath of the boom, households are now seeking affordable property to purchase (and live in).” Mark Dotzour, chief economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, said that as long as confidence in the stock market remains low real estate will continue to be the investment of choice. Texas markets also rank high on the list of metros with the largest year-to-year decrease in the months’ supply of homes for sale. Austin, Texas experienced the largest decrease, falling from a 5.0-months’ supply in February 2005 to 4.3-months’ supply in February 2006. Other top 10 metros with declining days on market included Houston, San Antonio, Raleigh-Cary, N.C., Albuquerque, N.M., Mobile, Ala., Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla. Kansas City, Mo., Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas, and Baton Rouge, La. These markets, with the exception of Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla., which benefited from the boom, are considered affordable with median prices below the national median home price, which was $218,000 in March. Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2006. All rights reserved