Business, like life itself, is tough – and the thing that makes them so hard is that they are difficult for a number of critical factors, one of the biggest of which is the absolute volatility concerned. Nowhere has that been more true than in real estate recently, where just when it appeared as if things would improve, they take a turn instead for the worse. Most major American metropolitan markets have gone through a renewal of fast falling prices lately on account of all the foreclosures and vacant homes still around in addition to the expiration of the federal home buyer tax credit. At the end of the third quarter this year, prices dropped in a full nine out of ten areas tracked by Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller composite home price index.
The major cities, such as The Big Apple and The City of Angels, appear to be doing okay under the circumstances, but other metropolises like Cleveland, Dallas, and Phoenix are not. Prices are falling dangerously fast and dangerously low in these bellwether cities, which also include Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon. These are “middle America” communities, better reflecting purely national trends instead of a place such as New York or Los Angeles, which can count much more on international factors as well, variables such as direct investment or regularly high levels of tourism, to help power the local economy.
Therefore, while veteran industry professionals like Isaac Toussie continue to be bullish on The Big Apple, they are anxious over housing difficulties nationwide. Cleveland prices dropped a full three percent in September alone, even as the unemployment rate there is at almost ten out of every one hundred individuals. The other local dynamos of Portland, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and even Dallas are all on precarious downward trends as well, making local property markets a buyer’s one – but sales have been flat as yet.
