6. Fargo, N.D.-Minn.
Total population (2009): 199,989Median sales price (Q4 2010): $148,500
Median sales price % change (Q4 '09-Q4 '10): 6.2%
Sales volume (# units sold in 2010): 2,326
Sales volume % change (2009-10): -21.7%
Unemployment rate (Dec. 2010): 4.0%
Foreclosure activity rate (Jan. 2011): 1 in 7,423 units
In the past two years, as unemployment has shot up to hover between 9 percent and 10 percent, North Dakota has consistently experienced substantially lower unemployment than almost every other state in the nation. In Fargo and Bismarck, unemployment stood at 4 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively, in December, compared with 9.1 percent nationally.
North Dakota has benefited from an oil boom in the western part of the state that began around 2005 and has continued to grow since then. 2010 was a "year of record production" in the state.
The Fargo market is home to several oil, agricultural, medical and technology companies, including the business software branch of Microsoft, that provide ready jobs for graduating students from the area's technical school and three colleges.
No comments:
Post a Comment