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CNNMoney.com Top 10 Cities: Where to buy now Read
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1. Panama City, Fl
72% Projected gain in home prices (5-year)*
A small city needs one of two things to jack up housing
demand: more people or wealthier people. Unlike the rest
of Florida, Panama City hasn't really attracted either,
mainly because it's isolated on Florida's panhandle.
The
interstate highway system bypasses it, and the runway at
the local airport isn't long enough to support anything
beyond regional jets. But now Panama City is poised to host
big airliners, more visitors - and a lot more buyers.
State
and local governments and a top regional developer, St.
Joe Co., are planning to build a new airport by 2008 at
a cost of more than $300 million. Locals expect the new
facility to open up the region the way Southwest Florida
International Airport in Fort Myers helped drive a housing
boom along Florida's southwestern coast in the 1980s.
"Panama
City is an economy waiting to break out," says Steven
Cochrane, chief regional economist for Moody's Economy.com.
Other factors increasing demand: Property prices are still
low by Florida standards, and the local market has already
absorbed a price correction after peaking last year.
Janet
Roan, a Century 21 agent in Panama City, notes that two-bedroom
beachfront condos are going for as little as $330,000 -
down by more than $100,000 from 2005.
CAUTION:
Local politicians, notoriously cozy with builders, have
green-lighted several master-plan communities for future
development. If supply gets out of hand, prices will stall.
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