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| Home |
| Top Ranked Cities |
| Cities Map |
| City Reports |
| City Profiles |
| City Blogs |
| Compare Cities |
| Your City Rank |
| Real Estate MLS |
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GreatPlacesToRetire |
We have researched a top collection of 99 towns and cities across the U.S. (see large map). Compare the cities using twenty quality of life characteristics, such as home price, air quality, water quality, medical care, taxes, climate and cost of living.
See which cities we ranked the best at Top Ranked Cities. If you don't agree with our rankings, find your own best place with a custom ranking at Your City Rank.
Create a detailed City Report with charts, facts and figures for all twenty quality of life traits. Compare cities in a unique side-by-side format at Compare Retirement Cities. Check the City Blogs for the latest real estate and community news including home price updates. New city facts are evaluated and added on a regular basis.
A primary factor for most of us in choosing where to live in retirement is home price. But what about home prices? Just look at what average home sales prices have done since 2006 in some of the most popular retirement and second home locations in the U.S.
| Home Sales Price (Average) | |||||||||
| New & Resale Homes | |||||||||
| 2006 - 2012 | |||||||||
| (click on a city for a detailed City Report) | |||||||||
| Price | Price | ||||||||
| 2012 | Change | Change | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | |
| City/Town | thru Mar | '11-'12 | '06-'12 | ($$$) | ($$$) | ($$$) | ($$$) | ($$$) | ($$$) |
| Bigfork, MT | $279,000 | 25% | -20% | $223 | $389 | $313 | $313 | $342 | $350 |
| Princeton, NJ | $689,000 | 21% | 6% | $569 | $612 | $607 | $616 | $733 | $648 |
| Coeur d'Alene, ID | $225,000 | 20% | -10% | $188 | $185 | $252 | $252 | $264 | $251 |
| Vail, CO | $963,000 | 16% | 14% | $833 | $995 | $1,096 | $1,343 | $984 | $848 |
| Sedona, AZ | $401,000 | 12% | -13% | $358 | $412 | $425 | $436 | $467 | $461 |
| Las Cruces, NM | $222,000 | 10% | 2% | $202 | $206 | $188 | $204 | $218 | $217 |
| Gatlinburg, TN | $136,000 | 5% | -37% | $129 | $144 | $184 | $200 | $220 | $216 |
| Bend, OR | $236,000 | 5% | -36% | $224 | $236 | $253 | $330 | $387 | $366 |
| Galveston, TX | $201,000 | 5% | -2% | $191 | $201 | $141 | $218 | $236 | $206 |
| Annapolis, MD | $466,000 | 5% | -5% | $443 | $447 | $464 | $504 | $524 | $493 |
The bursting of the bubble in U.S. home prices began in late 2005 for most of the country. The recovery has been historically slow and in 2012 we still do not have a turnaround. In the first three months of the new year, only 28 of our 99 top retirement cities had a home price gain from 2011. Bigfork, a small lake town in Montana, topped all of our places with a 25% gain so far in 2012.
The impact of the mortgage mess and the jobs situation continues to stall home values in most areas. But the affluent and ever mobile baby boomers are having an undeniable impact on the second home and retirement home market. As boomers enter the market for that new home, premiums will be placed on those properties that offer healthy and fun lifestyles in attractive natural settings.
You need to make an informed decision about that retirement or second home destination.
Get out there and visit some of your favorite locations. Find out what others are already learning about that great place in the mountains, by the shore or by the golf course that you can call your own.
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