After running AP and other wire service stories for months now trumpeting gloom and doom for real estate nationwide, our local newspaper, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, finally got the LOCAL real estate news and forecast right.

This article, "What Housing Bubble?" took up 1/2 of the front page and was sprinkled with pithy gems like this one: "......real estate is an intensely local business......."  and "Although home prices in the Knoxville region have grown much slower than the national appreciation rate during the heart of the just-ended housing boom, the local housing market has avoided the pitfalls of a housing bubble."

A quick look at our local sales statistics for the past 20 years would have supplied more than enough facts to debunk the Knoxville bubble myth.

Our area has long been blessed with a very diverse economic base and slow but steady appreciation of home prices.

""It really gets down to local economic conditions," said NAR spokesman Walter Molony."

Areas with significant job and population losses and an oversupply of houses can expect declines in both home sales and prices this year, Molony said. The opposite is true in areas where job creation is strong and the population is growing.

"The Knoxville area falls into the latter category"

"The Knoxville region has produced a net increase of more than 20,000 jobs in the last three years, according to Jobs Now!, a regional economic development program funded by the East Tennessee Economic Development Agency, the Knoxville Chamber, the Oak Ridge Economic Partnerships, local governments and dozens of private businesses.

Although home prices in the Knoxville region have grown much slower than the national appreciation rate during the heart of the just-ended housing boom, the local housing market has avoided the pitfalls of a housing bubble."

Jobs have always been plentiful in the Tennessee valley in everything from boat manufacturing, medical devices, ultra high tech stuff at neighboring Oak Ridge, auto parts, corn syrup, and lots more.

This is all in addition to having the Tennessee Valley Authority headquarters in Knoxville, The University of Tennessee's main campus, ALCOA Aluminum, and the Department of Energy's vast operations.

Additionally Knoxville's low cost of living makes it a mecca for retirement; couple that with a temperate climate with four distince seasons of the year, and lots of nearby recreational opportunities creates an almost 'can't miss' scenario for housing growth.

"The (Knoxville) truth is out there"...........................finally.