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 Manhattan, KS

Latitude: 39.190142 -- Longitude: -96.586818

Other Area Cities: Salina Manhattan

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Manhattan is located at 39°11'25?N, 96°35'13?W (39.190142, -96.586818)GR1, or about 50 miles (80km) west of Topeka on the Kansas River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.9 km² (15.0 mi²). 38.9 km² (15.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.07% is water. Manhattan is located in the Flint Hills region of Kansas. Tuttle Creek Reservoir is a lake located 5 miles (8km) north of Manhattan. While the dam which forms the lake was built by the Army Corps of Engineers primarily for flood control, the lake is now a state park, which offers many recreational opportunities. The Konza Prairie, a tallgrass prairie preserve owned by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University, is south of town. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Kansas 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Manhattan	Kansas	United States
Population	44,831	2,688,418	281,421,906
Median age	23.5	35.2	35.3
Median age for Male	23.4	33.7	34
Median age for Female	23.7	36.5	36.5
Households	16,949	1,037,891	105,480,101
Household population	39,037	2,606,468	273,643,273
Average household size	2.3	2.51	2.59
Families	8,259	701,547	71,787,347
Average family size	2.89	3.07	3.14
Housing units	17,690	1,131,200	115,904,641
Occupied units	16,949	1,037,891	105,480,101
Vacant units	741	93,309	10,424,540

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