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 Portsmouth, VA

Latitude: 36.831298 -- Longitude: -76.345641

Other Area Cities: Virginia Beach Portsmouth Chesapeake Norfolk

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Portsmouth (pronounced "Port-smuth") is an independent city located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 100,565, but a July 1, 2002 Census estimate showed the city's population dropping to 99,790. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S. Navy facility which is actually located in Portsmouth, despite its name. The shipyard builds, remodels, and repairs the Navy's ships of all types. Portsmouth has miles of waterfront land on the Elizabeth River as part of the harbor of Hampton Roads. A bright spot in Portsmouth's economic outlook is a new marine terminal for container ships scheduled to open in 2007 in the West Norfolk section. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Virginia 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Portsmouth	Virginia	United States
Population	100,565	7,078,515	281,421,906
Median age	34.5	35.7	35.3
Median age for Male	32	34.5	34
Median age for Female	36.8	36.8	36.5
Households	38,170	2,699,173	105,480,101
Household population	95,751	6,847,117	273,643,273
Average household size	2.51	2.54	2.59
Families	25,482	1,847,796	71,787,347
Average family size	3.05	3.04	3.14
Housing units	41,605	2,904,192	115,904,641
Occupied units	38,170	2,699,173	105,480,101
Vacant units	3,435	205,019	10,424,540

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