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 SCHAUMBURG, IL

Latitude: 42.030051 -- Longitude: -88.087414

Other Area Cities: Long Grove Schaumburg South Elgin Bartlett Bloomingdale Carol Stream Carpentersville Hawthorn Woods Addison Roselle Wood Dale

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Schaumburg is a village in Cook County and DuPage County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 75,386. As of 2005, the population slightly dropped to 73,345. Schaumburg is considered one of the Top 10 places to live in the year 2006, due to its safe environment, wealthy residents, and booming commercial area.[citation needed] The village has the headquarters of Motorola. One of only two IKEA stores in Illinois is in Schaumburg. It contains the Woodfield Mall, which is the third largest mall in America in terms of shopping area. The village is also the home of the Schaumburg Flyers, a Northern League baseball team whose ballpark, Alexian Field, is located near the Elgin O'Hare Expressway. Schaumburg's transition from a rural community to that of a suburban metropolis began with Alfred Campanelli's first large scale suburban-style development in 1959 and Woodfield Mall's opening on September 9, 1971. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Illinois 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Schaumburg	Illinois	United States
Population	75,386	12,419,293	281,421,906
Median age	35.3	34.7	35.3
Median age for Male	33.6	33.3	34
Median age for Female	37	36	36.5
Households	31,799	4,591,779	105,480,101
Household population	74,950	12,097,512	273,643,273
Average household size	2.36	2.63	2.59
Families	19,308	3,105,513	71,787,347
Average family size	3.07	3.23	3.14
Housing units	33,093	4,885,615	115,904,641
Occupied units	31,799	4,591,779	105,480,101
Vacant units	1,294	293,836	10,424,540

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