Memphis
Rent as % of after tax mortgage payment: 121.9%
Median home price change, 2006-2010: -15.5%
Just this month, Memphis was all over housing headlines due to the closure of its Clearborn Homes, the biggest public housing project in the city, which previously housed 2,000 residents. Shuttering the complex was part of a long-standing, at times exceedingly difficult governmental effort to eliminate public housing all over the city and place its residents in new homes.
What this means for buyers is that very soon, there will be new property available, because according to the Memphis Daily News, the city's next step will be to "leverage private financing for commercial and residential development in the area." As it sheds public housing facilities, Memphis is poised to become a buyer's haven. And the closure of these facilities, often seen as eyesores, could attract suburbanites.
And rent prices are still affordable for businesses in the area. According to the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, the city has the fifth-lowest industrial real estate rental rates in the country, at $2.81 per square foot. It's also tied for 26th in vacancy rates, at 13.7%.
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Last updated March 29 2011: 9:31 AM ET
