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 San Antonio, TN

Latitude: 29.451532 -- Longitude: -98.512682

Other Area Cities: San Antonio Helotes Leon Valley Terrell Hills Converse Schertz

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San Antonio is the second-most populous city in the state of Texas and seventh-most populated in the United States. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a population of over 1.2 million. Its eight-county metropolitan area has a population of over 1.8 million, the twenty-ninth most-populated metro area in the United States. San Antonio, which is the county seat of Bexar County, covers over 400 square miles on the northern edge of the South Texas region and southeast of the Texas Hill Country. San Antonio was named for the Portuguese Saint Anthony of Padua, whose feast day it was when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. The city has a strong military presence—it is home to Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base, and Brooks City Base. San Antonio is home to the South Texas Medical Center, the largest and only medical research and care provider in the South Texas region. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Texas 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	San Antonio	Texas	United States
Population	1,144,646	20,851,820	281,421,906
Median age	31.7	32.3	35.3
Median age for Male	30.5	31.3	34
Median age for Female	32.9	33.4	36.5
Households	405,474	7,393,354	105,480,101
Household population	1,121,466	20,290,711	273,643,273
Average household size	2.77	2.74	2.59
Families	280,828	5,247,794	71,787,347
Average family size	3.36	3.28	3.14
Housing units	433,122	8,157,575	115,904,641
Occupied units	405,474	7,393,354	105,480,101
Vacant units	27,648	764,221	10,424,540

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