Reading the latest editions of Money Magazine had me shaking my head. Consumers eveywhere are having a tough time knowing which set of data to believe when it comes to the market in their area and what was written in a leading magazine is just another example of why.
The first article titled "The Last of the Red Hot Markets" mentioned a few cities where the appreciation was still high for homeowners and sellers were in the drivers seat. One of the cities they mentioned was Grand Junction CO with a 14.3% appreciation rate. WOW the folks in Grand Junction must be jumping for joy!
But wait when you get to the article titled "The Outlook 2008" there is Grand Junction CO mentioned again. Only this time the writer has indicated that there is a bleak outlook for the city and in fact shows a depreciation rate of -9.9%.
How can two articles in the same edition of a magazine be so far apart? What data were the two writers examining that would provide such a huge gap in values? Of course I don't have the answer to the question for Grand Junction CO but I've fired off an email to Money Magazine to see what they have to say.
It just goes to show that there is little agreement among "experts" on what is happening in the market and that anyone looking to buy or sell a home needs to work with a local area expert instead of relying on data from national sources.
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If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in Northern Virginia give me a call at 703-346-2213 to discuss the market in your neighborhood.
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