Metro Phoenix Projected As Hottest Real Estate Market Of 2017

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PHOENIX — One real estate website is forecasting the Phoenix area to be the top housing market in the country next year.

Realtor.com ranked the top 100 real estate markets for 2017, placing Phoenix at No. 1, ahead of markets such as Los Angeles, Boston and Sacramento.

Phoenix is projected to have 7.24 percent sales growth and 5.94 percent price growth in next year’s market.

“There are more people coming to the [Phoenix] market,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at the website.

“More importantly, you’re seeing the employment growth that’s exceeding what’s happening in the U.S. overall.”

Smoke said that growth is producing the necessary jobs and incomes to fuel the housing market.

“When you combine that with the affordability that exists in Phoenix, especially compared to other western markets, it presents an opportunity for sales for people of all ages,” Smoke said.

“That’s the fundamental reason why Phoenix is so strong.”

Smoke added that the median list price for a home in Phoenix is just about $300,000.

That’s lower than the $675,000 median price in Los Angeles and the $480,000 median price in Boston.

Metro Phoenix projected as hottest real estate market of 2017 First Published On http://ktar.com/

Best and Worst States To Retire

Most people are focused on when they will retire. A better question may be where.

With more and more retirees responsible for their own financial security, almost half of Americans said they were "very concerned" or "terrified" that the rising cost of living will affect their retirement plans, according to a survey by insurance provider Allianz Life. 

To stretch your savings, choosing the right destination once you've stopped working can make or break those lazy-day fantasies.

"When it comes to overall affordability, taxes and inexpensive healthcare are things that could really help stretch that fixed income even further," said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub, a personal finance site. 

To that end, WalletHub compared the retirement-friendliness of all 50 states and the District of Columbia using criteria such as cost of living, crime rate, tax-friendliness on pensions and Social Security income, number of health care facilities, access to public transportation as well as the number of golf courses and museums – this is retirement after all.

Some of the top spots were no surprise – hello, Florida. Others, like South Dakota and Iowa, were less expected. 

Here are the states that ranked the best for those golden years, according to WalletHub. 

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Affordability Rank	Quality of Life Rank	Health Care Rank
1	Florida	69.22	1	11	24
2	Wyoming	67.81	4	25	19
3	South Dakota	67.06	15	33	2
4	Iowa	66.26	26	6	5
5	Colorado	64.85	27	17	7
6	Idaho	64.12	14	31	16
7	South Carolina	64	7	37	33
8	Nevada	63.64	6	9	42
9	Delaware	63.59	10	40	25
10	Wisconsin	63.34	33	5	4
11	Pennsylvania	63.23	20	4	32
12	Montana	63.08	23	24	13
13	Arizona	63.04	21	16	21
14	Missouri	61.73	22	18	28
15	Michigan	61.69	28	12	26
16	Washington	61.31	31	20	17
17	Utah	61.25	25	35	18
18	Texas	61.11	3	36	44
19	Virginia	61.08	19	23	31
20	Georgia	60.55	11	32	41
21	Minnesota	60.49	45	2	1
22	Maine	60.41	37	7	14
23	North Carolina	60.27	18	26	37
24	New Hampshire	60.24	35	19	11
25	Ohio	59.59	24	22	36
26	Oregon	59.47	30	30	22
27	Kansas	58.83	34	14	23
28	Oklahoma	58.47	12	39	43
29	Tennessee	58.26	5	38	47
30	Nebraska	57.78	40	28	8
31	Illinois	57.15	32	15	38
32	California	56.9	42	8	20
33	Louisiana	56.74	9	43	46
34	Indiana	56.67	29	29	40
35	Massachusetts	56.58	47	3	10
36	Alabama	56.46	2	47	50
37	Maryland	55.73	39	21	27
38	North Dakota	55.09	43	42	6
39	West Virginia	54.48	13	44	48
40	Mississippi	54.48	8	49	51
41	New York	53.54	46	1	30
42	Arkansas	53.45	17	48	45
43	Kentucky	53.27	16	45	49
44	Vermont	52.79	48	10	12
45	New Mexico	52.61	36	41	39
46	New Jersey	52.55	41	27	35
47	Hawaii	51.85	50	34	3
48	Connecticut	51.34	49	13	15
49	District of Columbia	50.96	44	51	9
50	Alaska	50.82	38	50	34
51	Rhode Island	43.84	51	46	29

Best And Worst States To Retire To As First Seen On http://www.cnbc.com