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Metro: Birmingham-Hoover
What a Home Will Be Worth in 2012*: $160,480
Q4 2008 price: $156,000
Projected price change by MSA*: +2.9%
Projected price change by state: +2.7%
The Birmingham metro area, at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, is expected to see significant appreciation in the next few years. Birmingham, the state's biggest city, is also home to the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a number of other large local employers, including Baptist Medical Centers, BellSouth, and Jefferson County Public Schools.
*For all slides, estimated change in median home price.
**For all slides, percentage change forecast for the Metropolitan Statistical Area from 2009 through 2012.