Real Estate Winners and Losers 2008

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If a home is "priced right, it usually sells pretty quickly—there's not a lot of inventory," Stachow said. "There's no high-tech industry to move out; there's nothing here that would say, 'We will go to India.' We have a Wal-Mart, a casino, prisons, hospitals, and that's it."

The Best and Worst of 10 Markets

Alabama

Worst: Alabaster
2008 price change: -2.36%
Five-year price change: N/A
Median home value: $153,594
Population: 28,240

Located 20 miles south of downtown Birmingham, Alabaster is one the fastest-growing cities in the country. But it has also seen the average sales price fall 0.08% from September 2008. Of the 50 homes currently on the market, 43 are foreclosures.

Best: Montgomery (pictured)
2008 price change: 5.07%
Five-year price change: 4.38%
Median home value: $103,889
Population: 201,998

The capital of the state of Alabama is located on the Alabama River and is notable for its association with the Civil War and civil rights movement. Montgomery and the River Region offer a wide variety of employment opportunities in different fields from manufacturing to health care, service industry.

Arkansas

Worst: Springdale
2008 price change: -8.40%
Five-year price change: 3.87%
Median home value: $133,944
Population: 63,082

Springdale is the one of the most populous cities in the state of Arkansas and is home of meat producing giant Tyson Foods. However, the housing market in this city of northwestern Arkansas has declined significantly over the past year.

Best: Jacksonville (pictured)
2008 price change: 4.36%
Five-year price change: 3.83%
Median home value: $95,455
Population: 30,506

Just 15 minutes from Little Rock, Jacksonville offers plenty of attractions to fill your leisure time, such as the Wing Ding Festival and the Business Expo.

Arizona

Worst: El Mirage
2008 price change: -27.64%
Five-year price change: -0.31%
Median home value: $127,426
Population: 25,531

As the gateway to the Northwest Valley, El Mirage is located in the heart of the rapidly growing west valley, and it has grown from a small town dependent on agriculture to a diverse urban economy.


Best: Sierra Vista (pictured)
2008 price change: -4.19%
Five-year price change: 7.20%
Median home value: $197,877
Population: 42,706

Located at an elevation of 4,623 feet and only about 20 miles from Mexico, Sierra Vista is the main commercial and recreational hub of Cochise County with a culturally diverse community that includes Fort Huachuca.

California

Worst: Soledad (pictured)
2008 price change: -39.66%
Five-year price change: -5.47%
Median home value: $227,739
Population: 27,701

Founded as a Spanish mission in 1791, Soledad is mainly an agriculture-based city located in Monterey County, one of the best wine regions of California with over 20 vineyards and wineries nearby.

Best: Palo Alto
2008 price change: 4.28%
Five-year price change: 9.14%
Median home value: $1,343,778
Population: 57,809

Palo Alto continues to be a draw for startups and established businesses, especially technology-related. The area offers excellent demographics with a broad cultural diversity and high household incomes.

Colorado

Worst: Aurora
2008 price change: -7.37%
Five-year price change: -2.63%
Median home value: $164,439
Population: 303,582

Colorado's third-largest city and located in the Denver metropolitan area, Aurora has a median household income of $46,507 and is well known for its sports-oriented activities.

Best: Grand Junction (pictured)
2008 price change: 0.34%
Five-year price change: 8.31%
Median home value: $220,892
Population: 46,898

Grand Junction is located about 200 miles southwest of Denver and it serves as a major commercial and transportation hub within the large area between the Green River and the Continental Divide.

Connecticut

Worst: Waterbury
2008 price change: -11.38%
Five-year price change: 5.17%
Median home value: $146,276
Population: 107,251

Once known as the "Brass City" because of its history as the center of the nation's brass industry, Waterbury is nowadays a great place for technology capabilities, historic architecture, and different communities.

Best: Westport (pictured)
2008 price change: 3.33%
Five-year price change: 4.15%
Median home value: $1,022,134
Population: 26,592

Westport is a coastal town on the Long Island Sound about 47 miles north of New York and is known as one of the most affluent communities in the U.S. Its Westport Country Playhouse theater and its Levitt Pavilion music hall are great attractions for both residents and visitors.

Delaware

Worst: Newark
2008 price change: -4.48%
Five-year price change: 6.19%
Median home value: $227,352
Population: 30,014

Newark is home to the University of Delaware, and much of the city's economy revolves around the school, which makes the town a very lively place to live.

Best: Wilmington (pictured)
2008 price change: -1.56%
Five-year price change: 5.75%
Median home value: $225,400
Population: 72,826

As the largest city of the state of Delaware, Wilmington offers business assistance and special programs geared toward small companies and many tax incentives for larger firms.

Georgia

Worst: Gainesville (pictured)
2008 price change: -21.85%
Five-year price change: -1.54%
Median home value: $150,088
Population: 33,340

Located on the shores of Lake Lanier and the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this city is the economic center of Northeast Georgia.

Best: Martinez
2008 price change: 4.35%
Five-year price change: 6.96%
Median home value: $152,344
Population: 27,553

This affluent suburb of Augusta with a median household income of $68,300 enjoys a great location for the internationally known Masters Golf tournament that takes place each spring in Augusta.

New York

Worst: Shirley
2008 price change: -12.36%
Five-year price change: 3.34%
Median home value: $262,987
Population: 25,395

Shirley is located in Suffolk County, in the Town of Brookhaven on Long Island.

Best: Utica (pictured)
2008 price change: 7.58%
Five-year price change: N/A
Median home value: $91,539
Population: 59,082

Utica has become a home for many Bosnian refugees over the past several years, reversing a population decline that lasted three decades. These refugees now constitute 10% of its population.

Wisconsin

Worst: Waukesha
2008 price change: -5.62%
Five-year price change: 2.68%
Median home value: $221,000
Population: 67,814

Evictions have been rising throughout Wisconsin in 2007 and 2008, where the faltering economy has been taking its toll.

Best: Menomonee Falls
2008 price change: -0.78%
Five-year price change: N/A
Median home value: $217,630
Population: 34,370

Menomonee Falls is home to drug-related firm DDN, which handles warehousing and distribution of pharmaceutical products as well as operating call centers and IT services for pharma companies. DDN has continued to thrive under economic pressure. Kohl's is also based in the city.

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