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."

As of 11/21/09 the Susan Cherry RePage is ranked at 3,565 with 50 points.
The monthly top RePage owner will receive a cash prize. Help this agent by bookmarking this site and posting it to blogs and other Web pages and encourage others to visit.

Local Information for shreveport, LA

Latitude: 32.468003 -- Longitude: -93.771115

Other Area Cities: Shreveport Bossier City

Enter our Photo Sweepstakes and Win $200 for your Shreveport photos!

To see random photos for other cities Click Here.

Submit your photos of Shreveport and become eligible to win $200. Click Here for details.

Shreveport, Louisiana, is the third largest city and the third largest metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the seat of Caddo Parish. As of 2004, the city's population given by the U.S. Census Bureau was 198,675, a decline from the 2000 census levels. Bossier City lies across the Red River in Bossier Parish and the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Area population exceeds 375,000. Shreveport is the commercial and cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex, the area where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. Some call it the "Gateway to East Texas;" others claim that Shreveport sits on the border between the South and the West. The city exercises a great pull over this region. A good example of this is that people in East Texas watch and donate money to the Louisiana Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) because no PBS station exists in northeast Texas. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Louisiana 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Shreveport	Louisiana	United States
Population	200,145	4,468,976	281,421,906
Median age	34.3	34	35.3
Median age for Male	31.9	32.6	34
Median age for Female	36.4	35.3	36.5
Households	78,662	1,656,053	105,480,101
Household population	194,754	4,333,011	273,643,273
Average household size	2.48	2.62	2.59
Families	50,442	1,156,438	71,787,347
Average family size	3.12	3.16	3.14
Housing units	86,802	1,847,181	115,904,641
Occupied units	78,662	1,656,053	105,480,101
Vacant units	8,140	191,128	10,424,540

Visit US Census