It seems like every day that Real Estate industry data will be released on a nation-wide basis. Sometimes, it is NAR reporting existing home sales for the month. Other times, it is CNBC report anouncing "new home starts" for the fiscal quarter. And yet other times, it some "market report" from one obscure data-collection service, or another. But, what can really be taken from these so-called "industry-wide-snap-shots"? To the average homeowner, buyer, or seller the answer is simply, not much.
These reports are based on information gathered on an extremely large sample size. This is normally to assure an accurate result of any empirical data. Unfortunately for us, this completely nullifies the accuracy of this data to the individual.
Real Estate markets are so localized, homeowners should consult a R.E. professional who specializes in their neighborhood. You will notice, that I did not say, "your city" or "your town", this is because factors that affect the property values of house on the other side of town, may not have any bearing on your property at all!
National R.E. statistical data should be taken with a grain of salt. Trends that critically affect the value of a condo in Miami or Las Vegas, may not have any significance at all to home-owner in New Orleans. The same can be said for trends that are prevalent in different sectors of the Real Estate market (i.e. Commercial/Industrial-vs-Residential).
So in closing for this week's post, I am asking you to please do not panic when you hear scarey data spewing from the mouth of a talking head on T.V. Instead call your local agent or broker, and ask him/her, "what's going on with the value of MY property".
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