City nets Final Four real estate title / LJWorld.com

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In this photo taken March 24, 2007, Kansas guard Brandon Rush reaches to defend against a shot by UCLA's Josh Shipp in San Jose, Calif. While the Jayhawks lost to UCLA on this night - and therefore missed out on the Final Four - the hometowns of the two schools already have faced off this year in another tournament, one based on their housing markets. Cyberhomes.com has Lawrence beating out Los Angeles in the finals of the Real Estate Final Four.

By Mark Fagan

April 4, 2008

Lawrence already a winner in Final Four of real estate!

The home of the Jayhawks is already a winner in the Final Four...or so says a property-information website, which has Lawrence winning the National Championship of the NCAA housing market. Enlarge video

Kansas is this weekend's winner in the Final Four, topping North Carolina in the semifinal and then UCLA in the title matchup.

Turns out that quick commutes and a large percentage of homeowners are as valuable as quick baskets and three-point field goals, at least when it comes to declaring a winner in the Real Estate Final Four as rated by Cyberhomes.com.

"Clearly, these places are all great basketball towns," said Lindsey Groepper, a spokeswoman for the property-information site. "But if you're actually wanting to own a home, to be a homeowner, which would be the best place to live?"

The company's conclusion: Lawrence, after the home to KU scored the most points compiled during a data competition pitting the four communities that are home to semifinalists in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

For its Real Estate Final Four, Cyberhomes looked at each community using seven categories considered critical to homeowners: 12-month property appreciation; unemployment rate; recent job growth; percentage of homeowners; property crime index; percentage of commutes less than 15 minutes; and number of sunny days.

Lawrence topped Chapel Hill, N.C., 4-3 in one semifinal, while Los Angeles edged Memphis, 4-3, in the other.

In the final, Lawrence claimed the championship, 4-2, by winning on appreciation, unemployment, property ownership and brevity of commutes.

Los Angeles scored better on job growth and, predictably, sunny days, while the two communities tied on the property crime index.

Thomas Howe, president of the Lawrence Board of Realtors, never doubted that Lawrence would be cutting down the nets, even in the face of stiff competition.

"Is there any question?" Howe said. "I think that the quality of Lawrence, as a community, trumps everything. How can you beat it? We have the best basketball team and the best housing market."

He expects KU to keep pace with Lawrence and pick up a national championship, too.

"Lawrence, like the Kansas University basketball team, flies under the radar, and yet we are the best," said Howe, a Realtor for Reece & Nichols Acres Realty in Lawrence. "We're going to win it all."