Moving South and Loving it.

 Growth in our Region?

Here is what moving to the south, specially the Carolinas gets' you.   According to the latest figures, the southern hot markets are b/SC, Greensboro/NC , Raleigh/Carey/NC and Charlotte.  Atlanta is in there too, but since I only do referral there, I stick with the area I know.  Analysts still are looking for a relatively mild downturn - but in some areas, things will get worse before they get better. Looking at the projections figures I believe we are spared this agony. Regions that saw the greatest price appreciation (and speculation) during the boom, such as Florida, Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego, are now taking the hardest hit - and will continue to do so until all the air is out of "the bubble".

The decline in growth is going to affect areas such as Essex Co., Worcester and Boston from -1.2% to -.4% and growth is anticipated in Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo from 2.1% to 3.7%, while other area of NY and NJ are going to see a decline in growth, sorry!

Parts of the South and West - especially areas that never enjoyed double-digit annual price gains, in these areas homes' continue to appreciate. Metro areas such as Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh/Cary and Columbia, SC are seeing growth from 2007 to 2008 1.8%, 1.8%, 2.1% and 2.5% respectively. The median home price also respectively at $198,000, $152,000, $214,000, & $140,000 - this according to Fiserv Lending Solutions and CNN Money.  Over the past five years homes prices changed anywhere from 18.4 to 25.8% in the cities listed above. 

This information can be very useful for buyers, but also for sellers and real estate agents, useful when we evaluate future market values and when is it a good time to buy/sell for what ever reason, either to move up to a larger home or down size and pull-out some equity, or just plain get away from shovelingall that snow.