Bridgeport Tour

The Best Places to (Still) Invest

It's far too late to play the buy-and-flip game. But there are some great opportunities out there for those with the patience to buy and hold.

By Paul Kaihla, Janet Rae-Dupree and Michael Fitzhugh, Business 2.0 Magazine
February 12 2007: 4:56 PM EST


“(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- True, America is littered with "for sale" signs these days. And many cities haven't bottomed out yet, and may not for some time. But all the fear and loathing about a housing slump obscures the fact that the end of one cycle marks the start of another.
So it is again this time: Believe it or not, there are housing markets that economists predict will yield returns as high as 72 percent over the next five years - if you can stomach the notion of buying now and not letting go. We asked researchers at Moody's Economy.com to crunch the latest forecast data and identify which cities will see the highest appreciation between now and 2011.

Then, after vetting the list against other macroeconomic research, we arrived at a consensus for the 10 strongest markets. For comparison's sake, we also asked the number crunchers for a list of the cities most likely to go into the tank. Of course, we can't guarantee the accuracy of our crystal ball - but we can promise that you'll know what you're getting into if you decide to take the plunge.”

3. Bridgeport, CT
Projected gain in home prices (2006-2011): 63%
The last place you'd expect to find undervalued real estate is in tony Fairfield County, home to ultraexclusive towns like Greenwich and Darien, where the Masters of the Universe retreat after a tough day on Wall Street. But a mere 20 miles up the coast lies the hardscrabble city of Bridgeport, which has long suffered from sleazy politics and urban decay but is finally cleaning up its act. The average home price is severely depressed - $280,000, compared with $840,000 in the county's other large urban setting, Stamford. But the wealth is starting to spread: As more businesses have left New York for Greenwich and Stamford, more middle-class workers - entry-level professionals, executive assistants, and so on - have come too, and they're keen to take advantage of bargain prices. "Bridgeport has fixed the corruption," says Norman Feinstein, a principal with New Jersey-based Hampshire Funds. "The local government is pro-development, and buildings are being rehabbed."
Information derived from:
By Paul Kaihla, Janet Rae-Dupree and Michael Fitzhugh, Business 2.0 Magazine
February 12 2007: 4:56 PM EST