Top Real Estate Markets? These Apps Reveal a Lot
Could your next real estate investment be in Raleigh, North Carolina.? Maybe it should be. It landed at the top of the "10 Real Estate Markets to Watch in 2012," a report by Inman News and Onboard Informatics, which helps put together those annual "Best Places" lists.
Based on price appreciation, a growing job market, affordability and low foreclosure activity, 10 metro areas got the nod (here's the full report: http://bit.ly/yTBurD). But what about their apps? The mobile activity can be just as telling. Here's a look at what the top three cities have to offer when it comes to mobile apps.
Raleigh, N.C.
As the top real estate market to watch in 2012, this North Carolina enclave is home to 1.1 million people. It saw single-family median home prices jump 7.3% in the third quarter 2011, compared with the same time a year earlier. And while its $224,300 median home price was higher than the national average, it was still affordable to 73.6% of households earning the area's median income.
And for mobile users, there is plenty to look forward to.
Government?
The city of Raleigh doesn't have an official mobile app yet. But in last year's strategic planning report, the city's IT department noted the need to enable a mobile work force and keep up with technology. In the meantime, the city is working with the
SeeClickFix
iPhone at
and Android at
to respond to reports of pot holes, road debris and other neighborhood blight. North Carolina also just launched a
sex offender
app, which allows people to search for offenders using GPS or an address.
Transportation?
The city's transportation department offers a mobile-friendly site showing the downtown R Line status plus entertainment options at
m.yourhere.com
. Also, the 99-cent
CAT tracker
app for Android lists every bus route - including recent bus position - for riders of the Capital Area Transit bus system. Several other public transportation apps are also available.
Visitors?
You're covered. The Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau calls its free iPhone app
visit Raleigh
and showcases events, deals and local photos. There's also the
Raleigh-Durham Cocktail Compass
, a free iPhone app to locate the closest happy hour and/or call a cab. And there's plenty of mobile-friendly news, thanks to Raleigh-based News over Wireless, which developed apps for several radio and TV stations in and way beyond the area.
Uniqueness?
The
app coordinates food delivery with dozens of area restaurants. It's also the only city in the top 10 list included in the
Food Truck Follower
and
TruxMap Lite
apps, which track where the gourmet food trucks are.
On second thought... The
Behind Bars
iPhone app shows mug shots of recent arrests in the Triangle area for 99 cents a county. Then again, some app commenters say it's very addicting.
Wichita, Kansas
The largest city in Kansas landed at No. 2 on the list. While Wichita's median home prices rose 5.5% to $120,900 in the third quarter from a year earlier, 86.8% of homes remained affordable to households earning the area's median income.
But the area's mobile life could sure use some help.
Government?
Sorry. And there's no sign of a mobile app coming soon. But the public library recently partnered with app developer
to allow patrons to download eBooks straight to a mobile device.
News?
Not bad. The big paper, The Wichita Eagle, offers both an
and an
app, but not one built for iPads. And three of the four major TV networks offer mobile apps.
Visitors?
The visitor's bureau web site has a lot of upcoming information, but no friendly way to access it on a mobile phone. And a promising local event app, DoWichita, has unimpressive listings. But what's this? The local-event site 360Directories.com, which spits out things to do in nearly 50 cities, is based in Wichita. One of its first iPhone apps is
360Wichita
.
Rochester, NY
Job growth put this upstate New York area on the map with its 2.8% growth since fourth-quarter 2009 - faster than the nation's 1.3% during the same time. As far as mobile activity? It's promising and could use a big nudge.
Government?
No mobile app for this city either. But the Greater Rochester Enterprise organization offers the
RochesterBiz
app to show users why it's so great to do business here. It puts all that demographic data, incentives and even available commercial properties at a finger-touch away.
Uniqueness?
Oh yes! Local News 10 offers a new
weather app
that provides the usual information plus details like school closings, video reports and the station's Twitter feed. And ever heard of the Garbage Plate? It's an excessive amount of comfort food piled on one plate that was invented by a Rochester restaurant. There's not one iPhone app but two to help you track plates down locally - at
Plate Finder
(free) and
iGarbagePlate Finder
(99 cents). There's even an app to find where the nearest
Kickball League of Rochester game
. And lastly, a local group of mobile developers meet monthly as part of Approchester. Go Rochester!
The Rest
I'm ending my research with the top three. But in case you're wondering, the remaining seven areas to watch in 2012 are, in order, Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa; Chattanooga, Tenn.-Ga.; Peoria, Ill.; Amarillo, Texas; Binghamton, N.Y.; Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa and Bloomington-Normal, Ill.
Tamara Chuang is an outside contributor to TheStreet. Her opinions are her own.
