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 Longwood, FL

Latitude: 28.702061 -- Longitude: -81.345098

Other Area Cities: Longwood Altamonte Springs Azalea Park Casselberry Fern Park Lake Mary Lockhart Orlando Winter Springs Winter Park Maitland Union Park Oviedo Wekiva Springs Belle Isle

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As of the census of 2000, there were 13,745 people, 5,025 households, and 3,678 families residing in the city. The population density was 997.6/km² (2,583.7/mi²). There were 5,189 housing units at an average density of 376.6/km² (975.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.30% White, 3.60% African American, 0.26% Native American, 2.47% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.90% from other races, and 2.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.05% of the population. There were 5,025 households out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.09. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Florida 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Longwood	Florida	United States
Population	13,745	15,982,378	281,421,906
Median age	37.7	38.7	35.3
Median age for Male	36.3	37.3	34
Median age for Female	39.1	40.1	36.5
Households	5,025	6,337,929	105,480,101
Household population	13,486	15,593,433	273,643,273
Average household size	2.68	2.46	2.59
Families	3,680	4,210,760	71,787,347
Average family size	3.09	2.98	3.14
Housing units	5,189	7,302,947	115,904,641
Occupied units	5,025	6,337,929	105,480,101
Vacant units	164	965,018	10,424,540

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