PANAMA CITY IN THE TOP 10 METROS WITH PREDICTED PRICE CLIMBS

As you will see Business Week Economist reports a very strong growth area in the Panama City Florida Metro Area.

Daily Real Estate News | August 9, 2010
Top 10 Metros With Predicted Price Climbs
Housing prices are about to turn around, predicts financial services technology firm Fiserv.

David Stiff, chief economist at Fiserv, says home prices will fall 32.9 percent from 2006 through early next year. But by early 2014, he believes they will climb an average of 7.2 percent from 2010 levels, with some areas skyrocketing.

Fiserv believes these 10 metropolitan areas will see the most growth in the next four years.

1. Washington State: Bremerton-Silverdale, +44.7 percent
2. Oregon: Bend, +33.6 percent
3. Michigan: Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, +33.1 percent
4. California: Napa Valley, +31.7 percent
5. Nevada: Carson City, +31.6 percent
6. Florida: Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, +26.9 percent
7. Arizona: Flagstaff, +26 percent
8. New Mexico: Sante Fe, +25.8 percent
9. Wyoming: Cheyenne, +23.7 percent
10. Alaska: Anchorage, +20 percent

Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Venessa Wong (08/09/2010)

Some of the Special Information regarding Panama City Beach Metro Housing Growth -

Forecast 4-year price increase: 26.9 percent
Current median price: $158,669*
Prices to reach trough in: 2010 Q3
Median family income: $53,800
Population: 164,770


Home prices in the Panama City area fell about 27 percent after hitting a peak in 2006, according to the FHFA home price index. Jennifer Mackay, an agent at Keller Williams Success Realty in Panama City, says the market was stabilizing earlier this year, but the BP oil spill led some buyers to pull out and sent the rental market into a tailspin. Despite the area’s large number of foreclosures (1.93 percent in the first half, according to RealtyTrac), Mackay says the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, which opened in May, should help stimulate local business. "I see our economy doing better than others over the course of the next year," she says. The area's unemployment rate reached 12.1 percent in January and dropped to 9.3 percent in June, according to BLS data.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: FHFA