(9/3: Now Denver is #10 on Forbes‘ Best US Cities To Earn A Living List)
(Update 8/14: Forbes now calling Denver #7 in Best Cities For A Housing Recovery.)
(Update 8/4: Forbes also names Denver #10 on Best Cities For Working Mothers.)
(Update 7/28: CNBC ranks Colorado #3 on Top States For Business List.)

June 23, 2009: Denver tops the list of Forbes‘ 2009 Best Cities for Real Estate Deals. 

Denver Colorado has topped this year’s Forbes real estate list for several reasons.  Denver had a Price Per Square Foot increase in March of 2009 to Feb. of 2009 of 5.7%. Total numbers of real estate transactions decreased from March 2008 by 8.4%. And 25% of the property sales occured within approximately 25% of the city’s ZIP codes. This means sales in various parts of the city were evenly distributed, showing proportionate movement. (The further a city deviates from the 25% mark, the less evenly distributed the market is in that city, and thus the lower that city ranks.)

Christopher Cornell, an economist at Moody‘s Economy.com says, “Denver scores very well in terms of being able to bring people into a stable housing market. It has better growth potential than most cities today.”Here’s a rundown of the Forbes’ Top 25 Best Cities for Real Estate Deals (click on link to see Forbes’ deciding factors):
1. Denver, CO
2. Phoenix, AZ
3. Boston, MA
4. San Diego, CA
5. Los Angeles, CA
6. St. Louis, MI
7. Tampa, FL
8. Philadelphia, PA
9. San Francisco, CA
10. Washington, DC
11. Chicago, IL
12. New York, NY
13. Atlanta, GA
14. Charlotte, NC
15. Sacramento, CA
16. Miami, FL
17. Milwaukee, WI
18. San Jose, CA
19. Jacksonville, FL
20. Minneapolis, MN
21. Columbus, OH
22. Detroit, MI
23. Seattle, WA
24. Cleveland, OH
25. Las Vegas, NV

Additionally, Cornell attributes Denver’s stability to its energy and technology industries that, “…aren’t likely to decline simultaneously.” Cornell also says, “Denver’s housing market didn’t grow as much as in other parts of the country over the last five years, thus ’little boom, little bust.’”

Written by Perry & Co Real Estate Professionals, Denver, CO