New Web Tool Predicts House Appreciation

HouseAppreciation.com rates communities on student performance

Public Priority Systems, the Columbus, Ohio-based developers of SchoolMatch, has launched HouseAppreciation.com, an online tool for investors to measure and forecast residential real estate appreciation at the community level.

HouseAppreciation.com narrows its predictions for real estate investment dollars by looking at communities as small as a high school attendance area. Significant economic indicators are also taken into account, according to the Web site.

The Web site rates the top 32 percent of communities in the country by high school attendance areas. The communities listed on HouseAppreciation.com are considered by the PPSI panel of experts to be the most likely in the United States to realize large increases in residential real estate annual appreciation.

Appreciation ratings range from "AAAA" to "A." At the upper end, communities rated "AAAA" realized, on average, a 107.8 percent appreciation in the last 10 years. Those rated "A" realized a 60.5 percent average appreciation value.

Communities rated "A," which is the lowest rating, are considered to have many favorable investment attributes and are ranked between the 24th and 32nd percent of high school attendance areas in terms of likely residential real estate appreciation, according to the Web site. Communities rated "AAAA," the highest rating, are considered to have the highest number of favorable investment attributes and are in the top 8 percent of high school attendance areas in terms of likely residential real estate appreciation.

The site developers believe that narrowing investors' choice to a high school attendance area greatly increases the likelihood of success.

"Existing sites that focus on appreciation in metropolitan areas simply do not drill down far enough to be of value because investors buy houses in particular communities, not in wide geographic locations," said PPSI Executive Vice President Steven Sundre, Ph.D.

Annual subscription to the site costs $14.95.

While PPSI is quick to point out they offer no guarantees, CIO Kathy B. Bleimes, indicates that "history should be a good guide to the future. We provide investors with a great source of information about residential property investments not previously available to the general public."