Arizona Home Talk

In markets where housing appears to be stabilizing, buying a foreclosure could be a very good deal.

Forbes magazine has analyzed the country’s 100 largest metro areas and then differentiated among inexpensive foreclosure markets and those that were undervalued.

For instance, there are plenty of homes going for practically nothing in Detroit, but the chances of recouping your investment are made more difficult because of the city’s economic challenges. On the other hand in a city like Raleigh, N.C., where the local economy is booming, searching for and buying a discounted foreclosed property could be a very good deal.

Forbes identified the healthiest economies and then looked at the spread between median prices and foreclosure prices, with data supplied by RealtyTrac, to determine where banks and sellers were offering the largest discounts on foreclosed properties.

Here are the top 10 cities where the magazine believes the best bargains can be found:

1. Charlotte, N.C.
2. Raleigh, N.C.
3. Nashville, Tenn.
4. Oklahoma City, Okla.
5. San Antonio, Texas
6. Albuquerque, N.M.
7. Knoxville, Tenn.
8. Seattle, Wash.
9. Indianapolis, Ind.
10. Washington, DC-Arlington-Alexandria, Va.

Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey and Jon Bruner (03/19/08)