Housing Recovery in Red States Trounces Blue States

In the past two years, the housing markets have recovered faster in red states than in blue, a new analysis reveals. According to data from RealtyTrac, most housing markets in the U.S. (52%) are better off now than they were two years ago, though 11% are worse off and for the 36% remaining it’s merely a toss-up.

Put simply, to be declared “better off,” a majority of the residents in that state had to live in counties that exhibited at least three of these five factors (all of which have a strong influence on housing health): significantly fewer foreclosure starts; higher median home prices; a percentage of homeowners who are severely underwater on their mortgages that was lower than the national average; significantly lower unemployment; and be counties where home prices didn’t rise so quickly that many average people could no longer afford to purchase a home. Read more from Marketwatch.com.