And the Good News Is...

November 20, 2008

It's getting to be more and more difficult to find good news on TV. Reporters seem to be reveling in stirring up as much "doom and gloom" news as they can – after all it's been proven that bad news sells better than good. Our addiction to news tickers and 24 hour coverage was solidified during horrific news events of the last decade. But there IS positive news to be found if you dig hard enough.

28 Metropolitan areas showed increases in median existing single-family home prices from the same quarter in 2007. Areas such as Elmira NY, Tulsa OK, Wichita KS and Urbana IL.

But even in areas where average home sales have dropped drastically, there is good news. Buyers who have been shut out of the home ownership market, are now finding that they can afford to buy. And they ARE buying. Three states where the ‘housing bubble' has burst are seeing some of the highest increases in sales. The largest sales gain during the third quarter was in Arizona, up 28.3 percent from the second quarter, followed by California which rose 28.1 percent and Nevada, up 26.2 percent. These areas have seen some of the strongest sales gains with some reports of multiple bidding.

And there's also good news for sellers. The typical seller purchased their home six years ago and is still experiencing net equity gains, even in today's depressed markets. The national increase in value since the third quarter of 2002 is 18.3 percent, which is a median gain of $31,000. Even with the current downward price distortion, 90 percent of metro areas are showing six-year price gains.

So while we are definitely in turbulent economic times, there is GOOD NEWS to be found if you look for it. Hopefully, some home buying incentives will be passed soon to stimulate even more home ownership. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said that, "A pattern of sharply higher sales in areas with large price declines is well established," Yun said. "Affordability conditions have consistently been a major factor in driving sales. Historically during recessions, buyers have responded to incentives and it's important for government to keep that in the forefront of stimulus decisions."

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Local Information for Stamford, CT

Latitude: 41.074448 -- Longitude: -73.541316

Other Area Cities: Stamford Greenwich Darien Westport Old Greenwich Fairfield

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Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, one of the most affluent counties in the country. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 126,745.[citation needed] Its population is rapidly growing due to an influx of jobs and its close proximity to New York City. Stamford is one of the top 4 largest cities in the state of Connecticut. [1] Stamford is part of the New York metropolitan area. Stamford was the ninth-safest city in the United States in 2006 and for the past six years has ranked in the top 11 safest cities with populations of 100,000 or more, according to the FBI.[2] In 2005, Stamford was voted "The Best City to Reside In" by the magazine United States Living -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Connecticut 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Stamford	Connecticut	United States
Population	117,083	3,405,565	281,421,906
Median age	36.4	37.4	35.3
Median age for Male	35	36.1	34
Median age for Female	37.9	38.6	36.5
Households	45,399	1,301,670	105,480,101
Household population	115,330	3,297,626	273,643,273
Average household size	2.54	2.53	2.59
Families	28,951	881,170	71,787,347
Average family size	3.13	3.08	3.14
Housing units	47,317	1,385,975	115,904,641
Occupied units	45,399	1,301,670	105,480,101
Vacant units	1,918	84,305	10,424,540

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