Of course, local realtors have been heard expounding the steadiness of the Austin realty market before, but this time it's from an independent company that is not selling real estate. In fact, the company responsible for compiling the chart actually insures mortgages.



Unfortunately for some, there is also a bottom of the list - in fact, the list starts with American cities rated with a one per cent reckoning that an area will not de-value in the next two years and moves all the way up to as high as a ninety-four per cent chance that it will.

Yes, Austin, you are up there at the top of the list! Consequently, any home owners who were worried about moving - well, if it is a local move - then go for it.

In fact, five different Texan cities were amongst the top ten who had a less than one per cent chance of decline in the realty market, so you can actually move around a bit.

Investors in real estate who have a daring streak may be interested in knowing which areas do not have such a sunny outlook. Several cities in the USA have been given a high chance of realty markets declining over the next two years. Some investors like to keep an eye on these types of opportunities and when the realty prices bottom out - they pounce.

It is perhaps fair to add that most of the towns at the bottom end are the ones whose prices 'zipped' right up in the boom era, whereas cities like Austin have continually increased at a steady pace.

This list of cities could be considered to be fairly unbiased, as it has been compiled by a nationwide company who needs to protect itself against loss. The company, PMI, this week published their national 'risk list', which ranks cities of America by the relative riskiness of owning a property in the main realty markets.

The company needs this kind of analysis - albeit the information is guesswork and projected analysis - before they decide whether or not to underwrite a home loan. However, for real estate investors, and those wondering if they should buy and where, it is another little tidbit to throw into the formula of where might be a good place to buy realty.

The top ten riskiest markets were all high flyers during the crazy boom - PMI lists the states California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida. The riskiest place in the nation right now, according to PMI is in California. Riverside-Bernardino is given a 94% chance of suffering declining prices. Las Vegas is a surprising close second on the table, with an 89% chance of declining in value.

Arizona is next up, with Phoenix and Mesa coming in at 83%. Los Angeles is next with a 79% ranking and Fort Lauderdale is at 78%.

These are the nation's top possibilities for decline in house prices in the opinion of PMI. It is probably not too surprising to anyone that the Lone Star state is carrying a lot of the success stories on the real estate chart.

If you are a more conservative investor, and you look for steady markets with solid employment and cash-flow backgrounds, you may be interested in PMI's 'safe' investment areas.

Reasons for so many Texan cities being cited may be partly because the whole of the state of Texas's economy is growing and it has maintained moderate residential prices, but also it never did get caught up in the crazy boom of the last few years.

Among good steady investment towns alongside Austin are Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. However, Texas does not hold the only top honors; the east coast also gets a good rating. Other cities with a less than one percent chance of realty price decline are listed as: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Charlotte, North Carolina and Kansas City, Missouri.