By Louis Jones
Think that no real estate market is safe? Believe it or not, there are cities where home values have held their own. Their economies are well diversified, and their population growth has been slow, keeping unemployment low and speculative building to a minimum.
Check out these ten cities that have seen an increase in median home value. Change in median home price is from the fourth quarter 2007 to the fourth quarter of 2008, which is the most recent data from Fiserv Lending Solutions, a home-price research company.
1. Midland, Texas
Metro area population: 126,408Median home price: $172,60012-month change in home value: +10.4%Home value vs. national average: -4%Top employer: Midland Independent School DistrictUnemployment: 4.3%
Midland's rock bottom unemployment rate, fueled by the local education, oil, manufacturing and health care industries, limits foreclosures in the area. As in most Texas communities, the city’s conservative lending market helped it to largely avoid the subprime-mortgage bubble's burst.
The city, located about 50 miles east of the New Mexico border, is home to Midland College and was a childhood home to President George W. Bush.
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