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 Minneapolis, MN

Latitude: 44.964465 -- Longitude: -93.268198

Other Area Cities: Minneapolis Richfield Fridley Robbinsdale Saint Anthony Brooklyn Center Arden Hills Brooklyn Park Coon Rapids Edina Golden Valley Blaine Maplewood Plymouth Saint Paul Wayzata New Brighton Saint Louis Park Spring Lake Park New Hope

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Minneapolis (pronounced [?m?ni'æp?l?s]) is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. It adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital and second-largest city. Together they form the core of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, the 16th-largest agglomeration in the country (and roughly 65th-largest in the world), with about 3,500,000 residents. In the 2000 census, the city itself had a total population of 382,618, making it the 47th-largest city in the United States. However, in the Census' 2004 estimates, that number had decreased to 373,943, putting it in 49th place, between Honolulu and Colorado Springs. If the two core cities themselves were combined together in the census, the resulting "city" would rank 18th, just between Memphis, Tennessee and Baltimore, Maryland. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Minnesota 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Minneapolis	Minnesota	United States
Population	382,618	4,919,479	281,421,906
Median age	31.2	35.4	35.3
Median age for Male	30.8	34.4	34
Median age for Female	31.7	36.3	36.5
Households	162,352	1,895,127	105,480,101
Household population	364,554	4,783,596	273,643,273
Average household size	2.25	2.52	2.59
Families	73,939	1,255,141	71,787,347
Average family size	3.15	3.09	3.14
Housing units	168,606	2,065,946	115,904,641
Occupied units	162,352	1,895,127	105,480,101
Vacant units	6,254	170,819	10,424,540

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