Technology TransactionsRealty Viewpoint: Finally, Financial Columnists Write Positive Housing Stories
Maybe Amy Hoak of Marketwatch started something with her - pardon the pun - groundbreaking story "Home prices aren"t tanking everywhere" back in April. She pointed out then that there were really only five states in a housing recession -- California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Michigan. Other parts of the country are "doing fine," she wrote.
John Wasik, a columnist for Bloomberg News actually wrote a positive story about housing, too, using identical language -- that some of the market is "doing fine."
Hey, in some circles "doing fine" isn"t much to celebrate, but in housing, having two prominent financial reporters writing something positive is reason to break out the champagne.
Both writers point out what the National Association of Realtors has been trying to tell the financial press for years -- that real estate is regional, not national. The writers also note that most of the areas increasing in value also sat out the housing boom earlier in the decade, with San Francisco and Manhattan as exceptions.
Is the sun finally coming out for real estate? As Wasik points out, where jobs are leaving, a housing rebound will be slow, but "the most bountiful places for housing growth are where homes are reasonably priced and people are relocating there because jobs are being created."
Using housing reports from Homesmartreports.com, Wasik singles out Dallas.
"Not only is "Big D"" one of the top producers of jobs -- followed by the San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle-Tacoma, Washington -- it leads in the total number of people moving in, according to the most recent figures by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau," he wrote, "Dallas homes gained an average of 16 percent compared with the 41 percent national average through 2007... . While that sounds like bad news for Dallas homeowners, it"s a plus if you are moving into the area. Your housing dollar will buy much more than in San Jose, California."
Wasik notes other low-risk areas as Bethesda, Maryland; Stamford-Norwalk, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; the Boston-Worcester areas; and Lexington, Kentucky.
Hoak mentioned the Carolinas, Texas, and some Rocky Mountain states are doing fine, as well.
So why is housing better in these areas?
"Americans are getting older, want to move somewhere warmer and need to find a smaller home for less money. Or younger workers are going where they can find decent jobs and affordable housing. Hint: You won"t find these areas in coastal cities," writes Wasik.
Thanks, John. Thanks, Amy. Thanks for doing your part to stop the housing hysteria.