10 Best Places for House Bargains

ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 12, 2008 –


The best place to get a bargain on a home is an area where there is healthy job growth and more houses available than people to buy them. These are markets “where you have high inventories but pliable borrowers, with lenders willing to deal,” says Anthony Sanders, a professor of finance at Arizona State University. Forbes magazine went looking for markets where the damage from risky lending hasn’t been as dramatic as in some parts of the country and where employment growth will burn off an over-abundance of inventory quickly.

Here are the magazine’s 10 best cities for bargain house hunters.

1. Salt Lake City, Utah. Developers have gotten ahead of the demand, but the city is adding jobs more quickly than practically any place else in the country.
2. Raleigh, N.C. Another place where building got ahead of the curve, but the economy is expanding quickly.
3. Orlando, Fla. This part of the state had fewer speculators than Miami and Tampa, and it’s adding jobs faster than those cities as well.
4. Charlotte, N.C. The financial industry is moving here, adding jobs, but the inventory of unsold homes is still significant.
5. Phoenix. This city had a high foreclosure rate, but the economy is growing and people are still moving here in large numbers.
6. Seattle. The city’s port has profited from the weak dollar, but the housing price growth has slowed.
7. Las Vegas. This market was hit hard by foreclosures, but the growing economy makes the huge inventory less toxic than it is many places.
8. Jacksonville, Fla. The foreclosure rate is slower than the rest of the Florida cities, making the large inventory likely to improve.
9. Richmond, Va. There is only one foreclosure per 1,103 households here (compared to 1 in 33 in Detroit). Still, there are plenty of homes on the market.
10. Houston. Homes in Houston have long been a bargain. While there have been plenty of foreclosures, the population and the economy are expanding.
Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (02/07/08)© Copyright 2008 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688

North Hampton Homes - Fernandina Beach, FL

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The North Hampton community located in Fernandina Beach, FL is one of the premier communities in the area. The community has an amenity center with swimming pool including kiddie pool, tennis courts, basketball courts and soccer field. There are sidewalks throughout the community which is great for walking or riding bikes. The Lofton Pointe Outpost is located on Lofton Creek and features a boat dock for canoeing and fishing. There is an outdoor screened in picnic area with kitchen. It is a great place to watch the sunset. The North Hampton Golf Course is located throughout the community and features an Arnold Palmer Signature Course with lakes on almost every hole. Enjoy a round of golf at this challenging course. North Hampton is located about 15 minutes to the beaches of Amelia Island and about 45 minutes to dowtown Jacksonville. It is close to shopping, restaurants and schools.

Click on the link above to see the homes for sale in North Hampton.

Amelia Island Waterfront Development

A new waterfront development including a Marina Welcome Center, shops and waterfront single family town homes in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island is in the planning stages. There is permitting for 34 town homes and several thousand feet of commercial/office space. The Marina will be a great place for tourists that come by boat and even land to visit and get supplies and information on the island. The city is finalizing design guidelines so there is no exact start date for this project.

Once completed, this project will add to the overall beauty of the current historic Victorian downtown. Plus it will also give locals and visitors shopping and eating opportunities as well as enhancing the waterfront which currently needs improvement.

This will become the new place to gather in Fernandina Beach to enjoy the boats and the sunsets.

North Hampton Community - Fernandina Beach, FL

North Hampton Community
Fernandina Beach, FL

Located 45 minutes north of Jacksonville, FL is the beautiful community of North Hampton designed and developed by the Landmar Group of Jacksonville.

North Hampton is a planned unit development located about 6 miles east of I-95 and and 12 miles west of Amelia Island, FL. It is located close to shopping, restaurants and the elementary, middle and high school. It is about an easy 20 minute commute to the Jacksonville airport and also an easy commute to Jacksonville's downtown. The community is also about 15 minutes from the Georgia border and close to St. Mary’s and Kings Bay, Ga.

The amenities at North Hampton include a swimming pool with lap lanes and a separate kiddie pool section. There is also tennis courts, basketball courts, playground and soccer field. Lofton Creek Outpost and dock are located on Lofton Creek and have beautiful western views of the sunsets. You can picnic, fish, cookout or launch a canoe/kayak from the Outpost. All the amenities are for home owners only.

The homes in North Hampton are beautiful and built by ICI Homes, Morrison Homes and Richmond American Homes. The homes overlook preserve areas or the Golf Course at North Hampton. The golf course is an Arnold Palmer Signature Course and is listed in the Top 10 Golf Courses in the US according to Golf Digest Magazine. Prices in North Hampton start in the $300,000’s and go to the $600,000’s. The Estate Section of North Hampton will have larger, estate homes overlooking the marsh, preserve or golf course. These 2,700 to 3,000 square feet homes will be built by ICI Homes, Watson Custom Home Builders and Arthur Rutenburg Homes. They are located in the estate section near the back of the community and homes start at $400,000’s to the $1,500,000.

There are currently 49 single family homes for re-sale and 14 lots for sale in North Hampton. Call or email today for information about North Hampton and Fernandina Beach, FL.
Come live in Olde Florida!