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As sales fall and foreclosures rises, the struggling real estate markets can be found across the U.S. as home prices decline. Convincing would-be buyers and sellers that local conditions don't resemble the national trends is the biggest challenge in some places. Chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, Randy Jeffers said that it’s a challenge that he faces all the time. He still regards his market of Amarillo, Texas, as a seller's market right now, while the number of sales has somewhat fallen. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of an existing single-family home in Amarillo was up an annualized 11% in the fourth quarter.


As sales fall and foreclosures rises, the struggling real estate markets can be found across the U.S. as home prices decline. Convincing would-be buyers and sellers that local conditions don't resemble the national trends is the biggest challenge in some places. Chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, Randy Jeffers said that it’s a challenge that he faces all the time. He still regards his market of Amarillo, Texas, as a seller's market right now, while the number of sales has somewhat fallen. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of an existing single-family home in Amarillo was up an annualized 11% in the fourth quarter.

Jeffers said that "Often they're surprised about what is going on locally or statewide." Locals incorrectly extrapolate the information to their own markets as the country's collective housing ills land bold headlines. Susan Wachter, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School has said that the housing problems largely aren't national but regional in nature. She points out that "The interesting thing is that there are parts of the country where housing prices are doing fine, thank you." Only five states are in what she would consider a housing recession they are California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Michigan, she said.

According to statistics from the national Realtors group, in the fourth quarter of 2007, 73 out of 150 metropolitan areas showed an increase in the median existing single-family home price compared with the same quarter in 2006. That isn't to say these markets are immune from some national trends. In the wake of poor mortgage performance in many parts of the country are affecting people regardless of where they live, stricter lending standards were put in place. The places where homes seem to be holding the most value are those where prices didn't surge during the boom years and where economies are staying strong. If the job picture weakens as a result of a slowing economy, that could also affect some of the most stable markets. It’s often the areas that are located closest to the city's core that is in large cities.

Jron Magcale
RealEstatePr.Org