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 Grass Valley, CA

Latitude: 39.219215 -- Longitude: -121.058414

Other Area Cities: Nevada City Grass Valley

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Grass Valley dates from the California Gold Rush, as does nearby Nevada City. It is the location of the Empire Mine, one of the richest mines in California. Grass Valley is at the intersection of California State Route 49 and State Route 20 (California). Public transportation is limited to the urban areas. The Grass Valley Group is a research and development company founded in the city in 1958, specializing in video amplifiers and mixers. Some of their technology was used in the 1977 film Star Wars. The company is now a subsidiary of Thomson SA. Well-known people associated with Grass Valley include the ace fighter pilot Chuck Yeager, philosopher Josiah Royce, the 19th century actress Lotta Crabtree, 19th century dancer Lola Montez, actor Jeremy Sisto, author John Thomson, professional skateboarder Chris Senn and bassist of the band AFI, Hunter Burgan. On May 15, 1902 in a field outside Grass Valley, Lyman Gilmore reportedly became the first person to fly a powered airplane. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

California 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Grass Valley	California	United States
Population	10,922	33,871,648	281,421,906
Median age	39.3	33.3	35.3
Median age for Male	34.6	32.2	34
Median age for Female	43	34.4	36.5
Households	5,016	11,502,870	105,480,101
Household population	10,662	33,051,894	273,643,273
Average household size	2.13	2.87	2.59
Families	2,677	7,920,049	71,787,347
Average family size	2.8	3.43	3.14
Housing units	5,266	12,214,549	115,904,641
Occupied units	5,016	11,502,870	105,480,101
Vacant units	250	711,679	10,424,540

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