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 Berlin, MD

Latitude: 38.331075 -- Longitude: -75.21395

Other Area Cities: Berlin Ocean City St Martin West Ocean City Salisbury

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The town of Berlin had its start around the 1790s, part of the Burley Plantation, a 300-acre land grant dating back to 1677. The name Berlin is believed to be derived from a contraction of "Burleigh Inn", a tavern located at the crossroads of the Philadelphia Post Road (now South Main Street) and Sinepuxent Road (Tripoli Street). This may be why the correct pronunciation of the town's name is BURL-un, not BER-LIN, nor ber-LIN. Unfortunately, many people are moving to the area and consistently mispronounce its name. Almost always local people, born and raised there, will pronounce it correctly. Berlin incorporated as a town in 1868. In the early 21st century, Berlin was known as a rest stop for travelers on their way to the coastal resort of Ocean City as well as a stop for tourists who enjoyed hunting and fishing on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Maryland 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Berlin	Maryland	United States
Population	3,491	5,296,486	281,421,906
Median age	38.3	36	35.3
Median age for Male	35.5	34.9	34
Median age for Female	40.3	37	36.5
Households	1,347	1,980,859	105,480,101
Household population	3,307	5,162,430	273,643,273
Average household size	2.46	2.61	2.59
Families	881	1,359,318	71,787,347
Average family size	3.01	3.13	3.14
Housing units	1,427	2,145,283	115,904,641
Occupied units	1,347	1,980,859	105,480,101
Vacant units	80	164,424	10,424,540

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