This is a very interesting article and certainly deserves to be broken down more carefully.It is interesting to breakdown how certain housing markets landed on this list. For example, Rochester & Buffalo have been on this annual list for years because of consistently low housing costs and because there was no housing bubble in the region, therefore, no bust either. New entries on this lists such as Atlanta and Las Vegas made their way to this list by being boom/bust markets. Thus the nature of an "affordable housing market".
This list certainly underscores why investing in Western NY is such a great idea. The market stability in Western NY rivals any in the USA. Housing prices do not wildly fluctuate when economic times are good and bad. Although it would be nice to get in on the ground floor in a housing market and wait for the upswing, it is also very hard to know when to get off the elevator when it's going up. One false step and you could land in an elevator going down....
Anyone who invests in real estate these days solely for appreciation is ultimately headed for doom. Cash flow real estate investing is the play these days. The Western NY market offers solid appreciation with some of the best cash flow returns in the country (15%-22%).
Ultimately, it is interesting to look at how cities on these types of lists arrive there. Some markets go on a very wild ride before arriving at "affordable".....
