location

Location is even more important for home buyers in the wake of the Great Recession. The old maxim is more valid than ever. The three most important factors for picking real estate are location, location and location. That’s the conclusion of research sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
While many housing markets will see increasing home values and will fully recover, some have reached a tipping point and will suffer protracted or even permanent problems, according the Study of Real Estate Markets in Declining Cities.” Some neighborhoods may never again be economically viable.
“This is a critical point that should be well understood by potential home buyers and lenders who want to avoid places plagued by high foreclosures, vacancies and a deteriorating housing stock due to deferred maintenance,” said James Follian, the study’s author.
Different cities and even submarkets within a city have widely varying housing market outlooks, said Follian, …