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 Cedar Rapids, IA

Latitude: 41.9831 -- Longitude: -91.668529

Other Area Cities: Marion Cedar Rapids

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Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa after Des Moines. It is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 120,758 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the Cedar River. Cedar Rapids has been residence to famous figures, including American artist Grant Wood, the Wright Brothers, journalist and historian William L. Shirer, writer and photographer Carl Van Vechten, and Dr. Alexander Lippisch. See also Notable natives on this page. A unique attribute of Cedar Rapids is that its city hall and county courthouse are located on Mays Island, an island on the Cedar River running through the city. Paris, France and Osaka, Japan are believed to be the only other cities in the world to have their municipal buildings located on an island in a river. Cedar Rapids is known as the City of Five Seasons, where the fifth season is "a time to enjoy." The symbol of the five seasons is the Tree of Five Seasons sculpture in downtown Cedar Rapids. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Iowa 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Cedar Rapids	Iowa	United States
Population	120,758	2,926,324	281,421,906
Median age	34.7	36.6	35.3
Median age for Male	33.5	35.2	34
Median age for Female	35.9	38	36.5
Households	49,820	1,149,276	105,480,101
Household population	117,389	2,822,155	273,643,273
Average household size	2.36	2.46	2.59
Families	30,824	769,684	71,787,347
Average family size	2.96	3	3.14
Housing units	52,240	1,232,511	115,904,641
Occupied units	49,820	1,149,276	105,480,101
Vacant units	2,420	83,235	10,424,540

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