Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right

We have been neener-neenering with pointed finger at such overwrought housing markets as California, Nevada and Florida over the past year and saying, "Ha, it ain't us!" Our 2007 President, Deb Greene, made the point on national television that the country's interior markets were far more stable than the coasts, to which CNBC's Maria "The Money Honey" Bartiromo said, "Good point, and thanks for making it."

But what's this? A new year-end report from OFHEO seems to be poking a small hole in our argument. The Minneapolis/St. Paul MSA ranks #225 out of #291 MSAs on the list of appreciation rates. Really? That low? Okay, our area's annual appreciation of -1.6% is nowhere near the muck of Modesto, California's -15.5% or Punta Gorda, Florida's -13.3%, but is it so impossible to imagine us as the next Ann Arbor, Michigan (-7.9%) in the near future?

Look around the region, and you'll see that just about everyone is doing better than us. From Duluth to Dubuque, from Sheboygan to Sioux Falls, we're on the outside looking in at their relative calm. Are we reeling from some big-city issues that the likes of Ames and Appleton don't have to worry about? Not sure about that. Milwaukee's relatively stable at 1.4%. Chicago's hanging tough at 1.6%. Even Cincinnati and Columbus are evens to our odd (let's not talk about Detroit or Cleveland for now; too messy, those comparisons). 

On the flip side, the mountains and the scrub plains are doing bully business, according to the OFHEO 2007 figures. Grand Junction, Colorado enjoyed a smiley 12.0% appreciation; Ogden, Utah was a solid 10.8%; and big ups to Bismarck, North Dakota for their 10.7% increase.

Needless to say, we'll be watching 2008 like a hawk around here. We recently called 2007 "one of the most interesting years in the history of residential real estate." There is currently no reason to believe that 2008 won't be another wild ride.

Comments

[lotsalesman]

Greed, fraud, lies and misrepresentation have caused our difficulties in the R.E. market of the Twin Cities and the numbersreflect what has gone on for the past several years. The low sale/listing numbers make life difficult but are a sign, hopefully that thethe deals written today will work for the buyers and lenders for more than a week or two after the closing.