“In this battered housing market, choosing the right neighborhood is more important than ever.

Some six million Americans are expected to buy a house this year. Whether first-time home buyers scouting the Chicago suburbs or a midcareer worker relocating to Denver, they are all contemplating what may be the most significant purchase of their lives at a time when no one is certain how much lower prices might go.

...[E]ven in hard-hit cities, certain neighborhoods are holding up better than others.

One factor is well-known to home buyers: schools. Even if you don't have children, houses in high-ranked school districts generally retain their value better.”

-Opdyke, Jeff D. "Gauging Value in Real Estate as Prices Slide." Wall Street Journal
   13 March 2008: D1.

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