Who knew?
Richmond has been rated No. 4 in the nation as a hot real estate market for 2016 by Zillow, an online real estate service.
Richmond follows cities more typically associated with urban chic, including Denver, Seattle and Dallas-Forth Worth.
Richmond beat Boise, Ogden, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Sacramento and (can you believe this?) Portland, Oregon.
Zillow says it based its calculations on home value appreciation, low unemployment rates and strong income growth.
While there’s clear evidence that some Richmond neighborhoods such as Church Hill, Carytown, the Fan, and parts of downtown are picking up, housing-wise, the Zillow results seem counterintuitive.
Richmond’s schools are still troubled and the city has a 25-percent poverty rate. Sadly, the influx of monied urban settlers only makes the income gulf wider.
Also, some bad news: The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that while foreclosures are down 67 percent from the 8,724 reported in post-crash 2010, they are up 51 percent year-to-year during 2015.
What gives? Is the stock market telling us something?
(Hat tip: Bacon’s Rebellion)