Interesting interactive tool (from Washington Post) to teach students about the hyper-local nature of real estate. Type in a Zip Code and the color coding on the map will show how housing markets have performed since 2004. Here’s a map from the Portland, ME area:

Why do I these graphs are important? Primarily in helping students understand the old adage in real estate about the importance of Location, Location, Location! Here are some questions to get the conversation started:

• In looking at the map of the US, what part of the country has had the best real estate markets since 2004? the worst?
• How did the housing market for the town you lived in perform since 2004? Does this surprise you? Why or why not?
• What was the best performing market in your region?
• What was the worst performing market in your region?
• What factors impact home values? Why do you think some zip codes performed better than others?
• What did this exercise teach you about real estate?

Be sure to check out the NGPF Lesson 3.7 on Mortgages

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.