New HomeVestors-LMM Rankings Shows a California "Gold Rush"

DALLAS, Sept. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- While much of the economic news coming from California seems pessimistic, new quarterly data compiled by HomeVestors of America (the "We Buy Ugly Houses"® people) and Local Market Monitor, the national real estate forecaster, shows the state leads most others in promising opportunities for investing in single family homes.

The "Best Markets" report for third quarter 2014 identifies fourteen California markets as "low risk" for this type of investment (the most attractive category in the rankings, which categorize 300 U.S. markets according to different investor risk preferences including Dangerous, Speculative, Medium Risk and Low Risk.)

This ranks California third, behind Florida (16) and Texas (15). California markets represented are San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos; San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara; San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles; Santa Rosa-Petaluma; Oakland-Fremont-Hayward; Napa; Santa Cruz-Watsonville; Fresno; Santa Maria-Santa Barbara; Oxnard-Thousand Oakes-Ventura; Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Rose; Redding; Chico; Madera.

"The California markets present a different kind of investment opportunity. With some notable exceptions, they're growing again - both in jobs and in population - as is clear by double-digit home price increases," said Ingo Winzer, president and founder of Local Market Monitor. "But investors in these markets are likely to see more of their gain come from price appreciation and less from a long-term rental stream, because most of these markets are no longer under-priced."

One California market is questionable for investment – Los Angeles is identified as a "Speculative Market."  Winzer added, "Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area are actually close to being over-priced."  

"For investors willing to take a risk, "speculative" markets could pose a significant advantage. These markets typically have weak home prices, but improving unemployment numbers combined with some job growth make them attractive investments," explained HomeVestors co-president Ken Channel.  "It's always important to weight the data carefully before making a decision about investing in a market."

Other "speculative" markets are Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlantic City and Buffalo. The three cities ranked as "dangerous" (Anniston-Oxford, AL; Albany, GA; Johnstown, PA) all are characterized by persistently high unemployment, low population growth and job growth.

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA
The picture is also bright outside of California. The Top 10 Markets in this Best Markets recap are Orlando (1); Houston (2); Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall (3); Dallas (4); Austin (5); Denver (6); Cape Coral-Fort Myers (7); North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota (8); Seattle (9) and Boise (10).

"Denver's involvement in the energy boom happening throughout the West has made that market more attractive for renters, while Seattle and Boise have seen an increase in population due to their large technology sector," said Winzer.

As a company, HomeVestors also is seeing unprecedented interest in single-family home real estate investing across the country. "HomeVestors is seeing historical record growth, both in terms of home sales and franchisee growth having just recently added its 500^th franchise - just another indicator of the strong interest being shown in buying single family homes for income," said David Hicks, HomeVestors co-president. "Since January, we have added 34 franchisees in California alone."

Hicks added, "Despite the steady increase in home prices over the past year, there are many markets where conditions, such as job growth and unemployment, are right for investing in single family homes."

About the Quarterly Data:
The data identifies markets that will be good rental markets and where home prices are likely to increase at a good rate over the next few years.  Criteria include markets where:

• The population has been growing at above-average rates (4% or better) with growth coming from people moving there in search of jobs;
• The current rate of job growth of 2% or better; and
• There is low unemployment, so that new jobs will be filled by people who move there, not by unemployed people who are already there.

Markets are excluded that have a small population because they don't have stable economies.

About HomeVestors of America Inc.
Dallas-based HomeVestors of America, Inc. is the largest professional house buying franchise in the U.S., with over 56,000 houses bought since 1996. HomeVestors recruits, trains and supports its independently owned and operated franchisees that specialize in building businesses based on buying, rehabbing, selling and holding residential properties. Most commonly known as the "We Buy Ugly Houses®" company, HomeVestors strives to make a positive impact in each community. In 2013, for the eighth consecutive year, HomeVestors was among the prestigious Franchise Business Review's "Top 50 Franchises," a distinction awarded to franchisors with the highest level of franchisee satisfaction. For more information, visit www.HomeVestors.com. In 2014 HomeVestors was recognized as the 25^th fastest growing franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine and number 126 in the Franchise 500 by Entrepreneur Magazine.

About Local Market Monitor
Local Market Monitor, the premier real estate forecasting solution, offers investors in homes and home mortgages the local market risk intelligence they need to make informed decisions. Using a proprietary formula called the Equilibrium Home Price, Local Market Monitor determines if markets are currently over or under valued, equipping users with a long-term risk and investment perspective. Covering over 300 local markets, Local Market Monitor also presents key investors with a 12, 24 and 36-month home price forecast. The solution includes sorting capabilities allowing subscribers to view and compare real estate markets along various metrics, including an Investment Suitability Ratings to identify opportunities based on individual investing goals.  To learn more, visit www.localmarketmonitor.com or call 800-881-8653.

CONTACT: Susie Lomelino
[email protected]
214.269.2092

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SOURCE HomeVestors of America