National real estate news articles tell you nothing about your house or value or what is happening in the area around you.

Wait, WHAT?

You read that right — national real estate news does NOT tell you what is happening with YOUR home’s value, the speed at which it may sell, or what is happening in your market area.

And, unfortunately, the good news out of another place may make you feel badly about what is happening in yours.

What do I mean?

Yesterday, there was an article in the Washington Post online, “Home Price Rise at Highest Rate in 7 Years.”

The first part of the article gets one excited.

“Dwindling inventory could drive prices even higher this year, lead to more bidding wars and “put the seller in the driver’s seat,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia, a real estate research firm.”

The problem is, the headline makes it seem like everything is coming up roses, houses are flying off the market, and sellers are celebrating.

BUT WAIT. The article continues:

“Despite recent price increases, millions of homeowners also remain underwater on their mortgages, owing more than their homes are worth, and would have to sell at a loss. Others may be able to sell their home but not qualify for a loan to buy another one.”

Hm. That isn’t very good. So, what that line tells me is that sellers who are in the higher price ranges may suffer, or sit for a bit longer, because their “move up buyer” can’t afford to sell their house, or is taking too much of a loss to buy that bigger house.

There’s more!

“Nationally, the number of homes in the foreclosure process fell to 2.8 percent of all homes with a mortgage, compared with 3.5 percent a year ago. The foreclosure inventory fell slightly in Virginia and in the District to 0.9 percent and 2.2 percent of all homes with a mortgage, respectively. The inventory increased in Maryland, reaching 3.5 percent.”

So, NATIONAL, DC and Virginia foreclosure rates dropped, but the FORECLOSURE INVENTORY INCREASED IN MARYLAND. That tells me that this article, therefore, does not really pertain to Maryland.

The same day, USA Today had an article online, “Rising Home Prices, Job Growth Go Hand-in-Hand.”

They note:

“In February, the three cities with the strongest price growth year-over-year all posted faster job growth than the national average, government data show.”

So if Maryland’s job growth was standard, prices aren’t rising as quickly?

Then, the cities seeing great price increases are named: Phoenix (+23%,) San Francisco (+19%,) Las Vegas (+almost 18%,) Detroit (+15.2%,) and even Denver (+10%). All of those cities saw their job growth faster than the average 1.5%. New York was at a low 1.3% job growth rate, and saw 1.9% market gain.

Do you note an area not mentioned? Baltimore is nowhere to be found on these lists.

Now, that doesn’t mean homes aren’t selling, or that the Baltimore real estate market isn’t improving from the burst. It is. But it may be slower in individual areas and price ranges.

Real estate is VERY local. I’ve mentioned before that it can vary even street by street.

Try not to get too excited or too upset over National real estate news.

Find out what is happening in YOUR area. For Towson real estate or Timonium real estate, contact me. I’d love to share what is happening right around you!