What the Media Isn't Telling You About the Real Estate Market

I enjoyed the latest blog post from TheRealEstateBloggers.com which talks about things the media ISN'T telling you about the real estate market.

Here are some facts from a government study done by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight:
1. Coincidentally, the 3 states that have had the sharpest decline in home sales & prices are also 3 of the states that experienced the biggest booms (sharpest appreciation) during the early 2000s - California, Florida and Nevada.
2. Over half of all metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) are showing price appreciation each quarter.
3. Of the 20 ranked cities with the greatest price declines over the latest four quarters, all but one (Las Vegas-Paradise, NV) are in California or Florida.
4. Only 15 out of 50 states have shown any actual price decline in the past year. The rest still show modest appreciation in home values.
5. Only 3 states have shown significant price declines from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008.
6. There are still many areas showing 5% or more appreciation over the past year, including but not limited to Bayou Cane LA with 11.22%, Wenatchee WA with 8% and Idaho Falls ID with 5.06%.
7. The type of annual appreciation we’ve seen since 2005 (ranging from 1.8% to 3.7%) is similar to the type of appreciation the U.S. experienced in the mid to late 90s, right before the real estate boom.

Wow, who knew? :)