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Realtor.com Lists Top 10 Turnaround Towns

02/17/2012 By: Esther Cho 

Realtor.com released its list of the top 10 turnaround towns for the 2011 fourth quarter. While the 10 towns listed – eight of which are in Florida – suffered from high foreclosure rates, they are now rebounding.

The current list was developed based on market rankings on year-over-year median price appreciation, reduction in year-over-year median age of inventory, and inventory reduction levels from Realtor.com, as well as unemployment rates on a year-over-year basis, according to a release from Move.com

1. Miami, Florida, at number one, had sales of existing single-family homes shoot up 51 percent in the third quarter compared to a year ago, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. The median age of inventory is down 30 percent from a year ago.
2. Phoenix, Arizona is returning to stability, with median list prices up 15.38 percent compared to a year ago.
3. Orlando, Florida saw its median age of inventory go down to 73 days, a 36 percent drop from a year ago and inventory also declined 44 percent compared to a year ago.
4. Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Florida saw its sale price increase 20 percent over the past year, more than any other Florida market, though sales are down 13 percent.
5. Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida saw an increase in sales by 17 percent over last year. Median list prices were also up 2 percent.
6. Boise City, Idaho experienced a reduction in foreclosures, helping the town also see a 40 percent year-over-year decline in inventory. This reduction in inventory also led to drop a 23.42 drop in the median age of inventory.
7. Naples, Florida had a13.38 percent year-over-year increase in median list prices, and a 35.94 percent reduction in for sale inventory.
8. Fort Lauderdale, Florida reduced its inventory by 41.63 percent since last year, and sales were up up 18 percent year-over-year.
9. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida increased by 9.09 percent increase in median list prices compared to a year ago. Inventory declined 35.28 percent since last year.
10. Punta Gorda, Florida made the 10th spot with median price appreciation up 17.79 percentcompared to a year ago.