Home Prices Steady....
We all know that the real estate market is not that great right now but we have to look at the positive side of the statistics provided to us from various sources....
According to the Associated Press, the Triangle is holding its own as home prices plunge nationwide. Across America, home prices are falling by the worst annual rate on record in the fourth quarter, two housing indexes showed, and the slope of decline steepened in all but a couple of battered cities---with the Triangle a bright spot!
Nationally, home prices have receded to levels not seen since 2003, and half of the metro areas in the 20-city Case-Shiller Home Price Index have lost more than 20 percent of their values since 2006. The biggest loss being in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index dipped more that 18 percent during the quarter (from the prior-year period), the largest drop in its 21-year history. In Charlotte, the only North Carolina market included in THAT index, prices fell only 7.2 percent.
Ready for some good news.....Two official Triangle metropolitan areas were among the few regions of the country where prices ROSE in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. Prices in the Raleigh-Cary region increased 2.96 percent, putting it in the 18th spot nationally as reported by the Federal Housing Finance Agency Tuesday. Chapel Hill and Durham has been weathering the storm as well coming in at 28, with a 2.15 percent increase. Even with that information, sales of Triangle homes hit a 10-year low in January BUT local prices have held up well compared with other markets that saw huge spikes in prices during the boom years.
Sounds to me like the Triangle might be a good place to be right now! Glad I'm here and if you'd like to join us please view our website so we can help find your dream home!
