Relocate-America.com ranks top 100 cities in its annual list
Apparently, there's just something about North Carolina. For the second year in a row, America's best city in which to live lies within its borders, according to Relocate-America.com's annual list.
This year, Charlotte, N.C., is in the top spot, the site announced this week. Last year's winner was Asheville, N.C., which slipped to No. 7 on this year's list.
"North Carolina is very active on our radar," said Steve Nickerson, president and CEO of HomeRoute. "It continues to get a flood of interest from all over."
HomeRoute is the real estate firm that operates Relocate-America.com, a source of community information and real-estate resources for those who are relocating. Each year, the site ranks the top 100 places to live in the country.
Areas need to be nominated on the site in order to be eligible for the list; more than 2,000 were nominated this year, Nickerson said. Special efforts are made to prevent spamming campaigns from influencing the results, he added.
But the site's editorial team also takes into account an area's growth, its educational and employment opportunities, crime rates and housing options before granting it a spot in the top 100. Environmental highlights also play a role, with a city gaining points for good air and water quality or the strength of its recycling efforts, Nickerson said.
Home-price appreciation does get some consideration, however it's only one piece of the analysis, Nickerson said -- explaining why some struggling real estate markets in California and Florida, for example, still made the top 100. Areas that offer a comfortable climate and economic opportunity tend to be the most sought-after communities on the site, he said.
Charlotte's diversity of housing options and home affordability were two of the reasons users nominated the city, Nickerson said. The city's strong economy, boosted largely by the banking industry, was another selling point.
Second on this year's list was San Antonio, Texas, which people praised for its cost of living, recreational opportunities and diversity, he said. Chattanooga, Tenn., came in third place, noted for its vibrant downtown and affordable home prices in the nominations.
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Published January 17, 2008
The average sale price of a home in the Charlotte is $251,990. Homes are selling for 96.01% of the list price and are on the market for an average of 79 days.As of 01/14/08
Charlotte is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. It really has is all! You are 3 hours from the ocean, 1 hour from the mountains and you have 3 local area lakes (Lake Norman, Lake Wylie and Mt. Island Lake) all coupled together by the Catawba River. All of this makes it a very appealing place to relocate. If you like new development, nice people and plenty to do, this is the place for you.
Other Charlotte Area Standouts: The Home of most of the top NASCAR Teams, Charlotte Bobcats (NBA Basketball), Carolina Panthers (NFL Team), University of North Carolina/Charlotte, Lowes Motor Speedway.
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November 30th, 2007 Categories: Charlotte Business
Charlotte NC Real Estate Still Appreciating, and Undervalued!
A Mea-Culpa, Some new Charlotte Business facts, a new video introduction to Charlotte and other Friday Ramblings by this Charlotte real estate agent.
So when you get it wrong, you get it wrong–earlier this week I reported Charlotte was #2 in appreciation, when in fact, by a couple 100th’s of a %, Charlotte was the fastest appreciating major city in the nation in the latest Standard & Poors-Case-Schiller housing report of the top 20 real estate markets in the US, leading Seattle, Portland, Dallas and Atlanta. Of course the headline was 15 of 20 markets were in price decline- and I hear it from Realtors around the country too.
Thursday night Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke to the very well attended Charlotte Chamber and announced “flexibility”on his thoughts about future interest rate cuts. In his honor, I wanted to start our Charlotte Business category.
Charlotte NC Business Facts
Did you know that Charlotte is:
the 20th largest city in the nation
2nd largest financial center in the US, 4th largest in the world
8 Fortune 500 companies are located here
largest consolidated rail center in the US
10th largest airport in the US, 11th largest measured by daily flights
Charlotte Mecklenburg School System, 19th largest in the US. 5 high schools ranked in Newsweek’s top 200 high schools in 2006. Charlotte also ranks #1 or #2 at the 4th and 8th grades in the latest annual NAEP reports of lower socieoeconomic status
322 of the Fortune 500 businesses have operations here
The two reasons businesses cite for moving to Charlotte? First, is our highly educated workforce. 2nd, the quality of life for their employees.
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