6. Historic Anacostia | Fort Stanton
> City: Washington, D.C.
> Median price per foot, 2012: $132
> Percent change since 2011: 14%
This neighborhood along the shores of the Anacostia river is staging an economic comeback — not so much for what it is doing but because the District of Columbia is itself undergoing a strong revival fueled by federal government spending and jobs. And homes are cheap. Trulia reports that the median sales price is $170,000 in this historic neighborhood.
Also Read: The Worst Product Flops of 2012
7. Home Park
> City: Atlanta, Ga.
> Median price per foot, 2012: $131
> Percent change since 2011: 16%
Home Park, a neighborhood known for housing Georgia Tech and Georgia State students, not surprisingly has both higher resident density per acre and lower income than much of Atlanta. At a $158,000 median home sales price, according to Trulia, the area offers reasonably priced homes. An edgy blog called Not For Tourists says that with the construction of a new bridge, Home Park becomes “Atlanta’s next up-and-coming area.”
8. East Mount Airy
> City: Philadelphia, Pa.
> Median price per foot, 2012: $127
> Percent change since 2011: 12%
Mount Airy, split into East and West areas, is known as one of the more successfully racially-integrated neighborhoods in America. Home prices are rising sharply on a year-over-year basis, and only a small amount of inventory is available according to Trulia. The New York Times recently lauded the appeal of the neighborhood’s attractive home prices and ‘socially-conscious’ lifestyle.
9 Northeast Dallas | White Rock
> City: Dallas, Tex.
> Median price per foot, 2012: $77
> Percent change since 2011: 50%
Prices in the Northeast Dallas and neighboring White Rock area are rising quickly. Inventory in the market is low. The area offers lower resident density per acre and higher incomes than much of Dallas, and yet, at $293,000, the average priced home is fairly affordable. According to Walk Score, a service that rates the “walkability” of neighborhoods across America, people in Northeast Dallas are basically “car dependent.”
10. Northside | Northline
> City: Houston, Tex.
> Median price per foot, 2012: $69
> Percent change since 2011: 30%
The mostly Hispanic Northside/Northline area is an attractive place for young couples seeking to buy a home and raise a family. The median sales price is $59,000, according to Trulia and rents are also lower in this neighborhood than the city as a whole. Other bargains abound: a number of homes in the neighborhood are in some stage of Foreclosure.
Rusty Weston
