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 Napa, CA

Latitude: 38.304764 -- Longitude: -122.298885

Other Area Cities: American Canyon Fairfield Vallejo Sonoma Napa

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Napa is the county seat of Napa County, California. It is the principal city of the Napa county Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses Napa county. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 72,585. The area was settled in the 1830s. It was incorporated as a city in 1872. On December 31, 2005, the Napa River overflowed and flooded the entire downtown area and thousands of acres all over Napa County. More than 4,000 residents were evacuated and 1,000 homes were flooded or destroyed. As of the census of 2000, there were 72,585 people, 26,978 households, and 17,940 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,583.3/km² (4,101.4/mi²). There were 27,776 housing units at an average density of 605.9/km² (1,569.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.32% White, 0.52% African American, 0.91% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 12.65% from other races, and 3.73% from two or more races. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

California 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Napa	California	United States
Population	72,585	33,871,648	281,421,906
Median age	36.1	33.3	35.3
Median age for Male	34.1	32.2	34
Median age for Female	38.1	34.4	36.5
Households	26,978	11,502,870	105,480,101
Household population	71,126	33,051,894	273,643,273
Average household size	2.64	2.87	2.59
Families	17,940	7,920,049	71,787,347
Average family size	3.2	3.43	3.14
Housing units	27,776	12,214,549	115,904,641
Occupied units	26,978	11,502,870	105,480,101
Vacant units	798	711,679	10,424,540

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