A Sign of the Rise

Even with the Nation Stabilizing Some Cities Demonstrate Above Average Growth

There are signs of real-estate market growth all over the nation. In most cities these signs of recovery are small, but the signs in some cities are significantly greater. One of the major indicators of a growing market is the number of building permits that have been procured. The top three cities in the United States have actually seen more building permits this year than last year. Why are these cities starting to re-grow faster than others in the nation?

The city with the greatest increase in the nation is Lake Charles, Louisiana. There has been a 122% INCREASE in building permits from last year! What is the secret to their growth? The destruction of Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Rita. With the destruction from the 2005 and 2008 hurricanes, their efforts to rebuild have kept the market stimulated with new life. The city with the second largest growth can also attribute some of its success to Hurricane Ike. After last year's Hurricane destroyed parts of the city, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas has seen an increase in building permits of 65%.

What about the city with the third highest growth in the nation? Can it point to destruction as the source of its real-estate growth? No. Salt Lake City, Utah has seen a rise of 36.6% in building permits over last year. Business Week attributes Salt Lake City’s success to “generous Housing & Urban Development financing”. Access to grants and other incentives have kept the market for new homes alive and even helped the market surpass that of last year.

If you’ve been waiting for things to get better, then your wait is over! There are still some incentives available to make this the best time to buy, but these will not last much longer. Keep the Salt Lake city spirit of growth alive and use the incentives available to purchase your new home.