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 Eugene, OR

Latitude: 44.057663 -- Longitude: -123.110345

Other Area Cities: Eugene Creswell Santa Clara Springfield Junction City Cottage Grove

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The city of Eugene is the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about 60 miles (100 km) east of the Oregon Coast. Eugene is the third largest city [1] (estimated population 146,160 as of 2005) and has the third largest metropolitan population [2] in the state of Oregon. (Eugene has long been the state's second largest city after Portland, but was overtaken by Salem in terms of population around 2004.) Eugene is home to the University of Oregon. The city is also noted for its natural beauty, activist political leanings, alternative lifestyles, recreation opportunities (especially bicycling, rafting, and kayaking), and arts focus. Eugene's motto is "The World's Greatest City for the Arts and Outdoors." -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Oregon 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Eugene	Oregon	United States
Population	137,893	3,421,399	281,421,906
Median age	33	36.3	35.3
Median age for Male	31.2	35.1	34
Median age for Female	34.9	37.5	36.5
Households	58,110	1,333,723	105,480,101
Household population	131,807	3,343,908	273,643,273
Average household size	2.27	2.51	2.59
Families	31,297	877,671	71,787,347
Average family size	2.87	3.02	3.14
Housing units	61,444	1,452,709	115,904,641
Occupied units	58,110	1,333,723	105,480,101
Vacant units	3,334	118,986	10,424,540

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