My mantra throughout the recent housing ups and downs is becoming more evident as the situation normalizes, "Reasonable real estate is always a good investment!" 
"One out of three U.S. metro areas showed rising home prices in the first quarter, according to the latest quarterly survey by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The survey shows first-quarter median single-family home prices in 149 metropolitan statistical areas.
'It’s more important than ever to examine what’s happening with home prices at the city and neighborhood level,' says NAR President Richard Gaylord. 'The old real estate mantra of ‘location, location, location’ is perhaps more relevant today than ever before. Consumers should check with REALTORS® for local expertise on what’s going on in their own area because conditions can vary considerably from one neighborhood to the next.'
The housing slowdown is most pronounced in high-cost markets, dragging down the aggregate national median price, the report says. In the first quarter, the median existing single-family home price was $196,300, down 7.7 percent from the first quarter of 2007 when the median price was $212,600. The national median normally is a typical market price, in which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, warns that the numbers don’t tell the whole story. 'These are highly unusual results because there were very few jumbo loan originations in the latest quarter, so sales are much slower in high-cost areas, and at the same time foreclosures related to subprime mortgages rose,' Yun says.
'Neighborhoods with little subprime exposure are holding on very well, while prices have fallen in neighborhoods with a wide prevalence of subprime loans because more foreclosed properties are being sold at discounted prices.' Yun said that borrowers with subprime loans account for less than 10 percent of all home owners. 'Even so, subprime mortgages account for more than half of all foreclosures. Sharp price declines are principally in neighborhoods where subprime lending has been widely prevalent.'
Typical sellers in the first quarter, who purchased their home six years ago, saw a sizable equity gain despite a price drop from a year ago. The median increase in value for sellers who purchased that home in the first quarter of 2002 is 23.8 percent, and the median home equity accumulation is $37,700. 'The typical home buyer today plans to own that property for 10 years, and with that kind of long-term view most people will do quite well,' Gaylord says. 'Inventories have stabilized and mortgage availability is beginning to improve, so we expect overall prices to go positive during the second half of the year.'”
For the full Realtor Magazine article: http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2008051301?OpenDocument
"One out of three U.S. metro areas showed rising home prices in the first quarter, according to the latest quarterly survey by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The survey shows first-quarter median single-family home prices in 149 metropolitan statistical areas.'It’s more important than ever to examine what’s happening with home prices at the city and neighborhood level,' says NAR President Richard Gaylord. 'The old real estate mantra of ‘location, location, location’ is perhaps more relevant today than ever before. Consumers should check with REALTORS® for local expertise on what’s going on in their own area because conditions can vary considerably from one neighborhood to the next.'
The housing slowdown is most pronounced in high-cost markets, dragging down the aggregate national median price, the report says. In the first quarter, the median existing single-family home price was $196,300, down 7.7 percent from the first quarter of 2007 when the median price was $212,600. The national median normally is a typical market price, in which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, warns that the numbers don’t tell the whole story. 'These are highly unusual results because there were very few jumbo loan originations in the latest quarter, so sales are much slower in high-cost areas, and at the same time foreclosures related to subprime mortgages rose,' Yun says.
'Neighborhoods with little subprime exposure are holding on very well, while prices have fallen in neighborhoods with a wide prevalence of subprime loans because more foreclosed properties are being sold at discounted prices.' Yun said that borrowers with subprime loans account for less than 10 percent of all home owners. 'Even so, subprime mortgages account for more than half of all foreclosures. Sharp price declines are principally in neighborhoods where subprime lending has been widely prevalent.'
Typical sellers in the first quarter, who purchased their home six years ago, saw a sizable equity gain despite a price drop from a year ago. The median increase in value for sellers who purchased that home in the first quarter of 2002 is 23.8 percent, and the median home equity accumulation is $37,700. 'The typical home buyer today plans to own that property for 10 years, and with that kind of long-term view most people will do quite well,' Gaylord says. 'Inventories have stabilized and mortgage availability is beginning to improve, so we expect overall prices to go positive during the second half of the year.'”
For the full Realtor Magazine article: http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2008051301?OpenDocument
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