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 Martinsville, IN

Latitude: 39.423339 -- Longitude: -86.423779

Other Area Cities: Martinsville Greenwood

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Martinsville is a city in Morgan County, Indiana, United States. The population was 11,698 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Morgan CountyGR6. The town has, through popular media and hearsay, received a reputation within central Indiana as a racist community. This is largely due to a violent and tragic murder in the mid-20th century involving a Klansman from Indianapolis and an African-American teenager who crossed paths in the town. As of the census of 2000, there were 11,698 people, 4,621 households, and 3,086 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,012.7/km² (2,620.6/mi²). There were 4,880 housing units at an average density of 422.5/km² (1,093.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.62% White, 0.09% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.99% of the population. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Indiana 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Martinsville	Indiana	United States
Population	11,698	6,080,485	281,421,906
Median age	35.3	35.2	35.3
Median age for Male	32.5	33.9	34
Median age for Female	38.1	36.5	36.5
Households	4,621	2,336,306	105,480,101
Household population	11,201	5,902,331	273,643,273
Average household size	2.42	2.53	2.59
Families	3,089	1,602,501	71,787,347
Average family size	2.96	3.05	3.14
Housing units	4,880	2,532,319	115,904,641
Occupied units	4,621	2,336,306	105,480,101
Vacant units	259	196,013	10,424,540

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