The Real Estate Market and Interpreting Press Headlines

We're all knowledgeable about the expression: 'read between your lines.' But what does it mean to see between media statements as it relates to More information? The purpose of a media subject is always to 'hook' the viewer or viewer's attention. The headline lure is made to get the reader to dive further into the published material and the audience to stay tuned.Some new printing statements that grabbed my attention are:Washington Post, December 29, 2010: 'D.C. Region skirts home-price slump: Annually Gain Brings Land' by Dina ElBoghdadyWall Street Journal, November 30, 2010: 'House Rates Remain Too High: The Worst is Yet to Return' by Philip N. SchiffWashington Post, January 1, 2011: 'Stumbling along: National unemployed count, higher rates of interest may weaken D.C. area's gains' by Dina ElBoghadyNote that the first and third articles are by the same author. The primary and second author are now discussing the exact same report produced by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price statement issued in the news release from New York dated December 28, 2010. How is someone to 'read between your lines' and read these statements? I liken it to statements about dropping weight: important thing the message is: eat less and move more. The bottom line concept for real estate headlines is: all real estate is nearby. Where in actuality the real estate is!The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices follow 20 urban centers that established the baseline value of 100 in January of 2000 it matters. Obviously some metropolitan market places are further along in restoration then are the others, especially Los Angeles, Ny and Washington DC have maintained most of the value appreciation that occurred inside the mid-2000 decade. In line with the current push release: 'All these markets is over 70 above their January 2000 amounts.' That sounds rather confident if you ask me, and yet the headline proclaimed that the worst is yet to come!Interpreting the January 1st post in the Washington Post too requires further analysis, which mainly has to do with understanding the location of the real estate in question. Price recovery was sustained by the market area in which the Huckaby Briscoe Group primarily works in 2010 of an average of 8.48% (2010 average sales price of $385,000 up from 2009 average sales price of $354,900), although the actual number of transactions was down 5.7%. Therefore it matters if the topic is speaking of price or of range of purchases. Sales are down but costs are up, if you're a buyer or seller, which are you more involved about?The best supply of understanding the neighborhood real estate industry is an skilled and knowledgeable Realtor.