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 Brentwood, TN

Latitude: 35.929074 -- Longitude: -86.857402

Other Area Cities: Franklin Belle Meade Brentwood Forest Hills Nashville

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Franklin is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, USA. The population was 41,842 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Williamson County. The City of Franklin was founded October 26, 1799 and was named after Benjamin Franklin, a close friend of Dr. Hugh Williamson, a member of the Continental Congress for whom Williamson County was named. For most of its first 180 years, Franklin was a tranquil, small county seat. In the years prior to the American Civil War, Williamson County was one of the wealthiest counties in Tennessee and Franklin was the center of plantation economy. However, the Civil War devastated the economy. Union troops occupied the area for nearly three years.The 2004 Special Census lists the city's population at just over 46,000 making it the 10th largest city in the state and the fastest growing. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Franklin's population as of July 1, 2005, to be 53,311. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Tennessee 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Franklin	Tennessee	United States
Population	41,842	5,689,283	281,421,906
Median age	33	35.9	35.3
Median age for Male	32.1	34.5	34
Median age for Female	33.9	37.2	36.5
Households	16,128	2,232,905	105,480,101
Household population	41,125	5,541,337	273,643,273
Average household size	2.55	2.48	2.59
Families	11,232	1,547,835	71,787,347
Average family size	3.09	2.99	3.14
Housing units	17,296	2,439,443	115,904,641
Occupied units	16,128	2,232,905	105,480,101
Vacant units	1,168	206,538	10,424,540

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