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#3 MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA
- Risk of price decline: 13.1%
Boosters of Alabama’s capital point to Maxwell Air Force Base — hub of the Air Force’s officer training and information-technology development — as a backbone of the economy. But the city owes much of its recent success to the migration of auto plants to the South, with Alabama alone boasting about 250 auto-related manufacturers. The Montgomery plant that South Korea’s Hyundai Motor opened in 2005 has added about 7,000 jobs to the tri-county area, including those at more than two dozen suppliers. The factory has done so well that the city recently won a competition for a Hyundai plant that will make electric transformers.
And it’s not just the number of jobs that counts: Keivan Deravi, an economics professor at Auburn University at Montgomery, says that Hyundai has boosted prevailing wages for skilled factory workers in Montgomery by about 20% since its arrival.
Local real-estate experts say strong employment has kept demand for homes constant, while developers have avoided overbuilding. Deravi says that helps keep the economy “boringly stable.” And that’s good news for homebuyers in a city where housing dollars go a long way.
Stable prices are part of what attracted Paul and Jenni Register to Wynlakes, a neighborhood with a golf course and country club on the east side of Montgomery. With a child on the way, the Registers wanted more space than their 2,400-square-foot villa offered, and they liked the big yards and ample security in the new neighborhood. The couple ended up paying $555,000 for a 3,800-square-foot home, which their real-estate agent says was about 4% below the list price.
Betty Cannon, Realtor
334-323-1124 or Toll Free 800-475-2243 ext 124
Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) & Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR)
Helping You Move Team with RE/MAX of Montgomery
