I came across some interesting info the other day on realtor.com. They republished some info from Zillow that showed the Top Ten Areas where home prices have either Decreased or Increased. Here is the break down:
Top 10 Increases
Ithaca, NY +5.6%
State College, PA +4%
Jacksonville, NC +3.9%
Winston-Salem, NC +3.4%
Bay City, MI +3.2%
Rochester, NY +3.1%
Greenville, SC +2.8%
Anderson, SC +2.7%
Burlington, NC +2.6%
Spartanburg, SC +2.0%
So, overall our top ten areas of growth are posting small single digit appreciation rates. Pretty typical stuff. Interesting that 9 of them are in or pretty close to the Mid Atlantic region.
But even more interesting is where the values have gone down:
Las-Vegas-Paradise, NV -24.6%
Bakersfield, CA -24.9%
Madera, CA -26.2%
Gainesville, GA -26.4%
Riverside/San Benardino, CA -30.4%
Modesto, CA -31.0%
Salinas, CA -32.4%
Merced, CA -32.5%
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA -33.2%
Stockton, CA -35.5%
8 out of 10 of the biggest decreases in the country are in California, which coincidentally had the most over-inflated markets. I have a message for the great State of California. Stop screwing it up for the rest of us! It is no wonder people are confused about the real estate market when California, the state where many people live in a constant state of excess, isn’t just keeping the roller coaster going but I are extending the track to make new highs and lows every day. Most of the negative media coverage of the real estate market is negative because in places like California it really is bad. Who can argue with declines of 25% to 35%?
But that isn’t Lancaster County. In Lancaster, our average sales price as of the end of October is down about 3.5%, not bad considering that for the most part we were holding steady this year. We never had an over-inflated market though like California did. Much of our recent decrease is attributable more to the economic uncertainty than market conditions. Our prices are declining slightly because the activity is down 9units closed is down in the neighborhood of 25% to 29% depending on how you look at the data), many buyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting to buy because they aren’t sure if their jobs will be there next year. That has nothing to do with home prices and I can’t fix it here.
All I can do is spread the word. Here in Lancaster, activity levels are pretty normal (historically), rates are low and there are deals to be had. If you are waiting on the side of the pool trying to decide whether to jump in, all I can say is come on in, the water’s fine!
As always, you can call me Direct at 717-371-0557 or at the Office 717-490-8999, email me at Jason@JasonsHomes.com or send me a text message using the tool to the right of this post!
Your Friend in Real Estate,
Jason
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