Where to Invest? Charlotte, Dallas Show Price Gains

Charlotte and Dallas are beckoning second-home buyers and perhaps investors. The latest news from the S&P Case/Shiller home index report is that for the first time in as many months, "we finally saw monthly price appreciation" in these two metro areas," David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index committee at Standard & Poor’s, said today as the dismal first quarter housing numbers showed declines elsewhere. "Charlotte was up 0.2% in March over February, and Dallas was up 1.1%.”

On the negative side, Las Vegas "remains the weakest market, reporting an annual decline of -25.9%, followed by Miami and Phoenix at -24.6% and -23.0%, respectively. Charlotte is the only market with appreciation over the past year, returning +0.8%. In March, half of the MSAs and both composites fell by more than 2% over February. Miami was the worst performer, returning -4.5%.

"Overall," according to the report, "the markets that grew the most during the recent real estate boom are the ones that are leading the current decline."