usual. However, after five years of double-digit rises in median home sale prices, the market in 2007 will define what it does or doesn’t mean, long-term. What many headlines failedBubble this, dramatic decline that, and housing bust to boot. If you relied on headlines in 2006 to make residential real estate decisions, you were misled. The statistics tell the real story, yes, not a pretty one in all markets. Stripping away the hype will give you an accurate picture of what did and didn’t happen. The National Association of Realtors released their numbers for the third quarter of 2006. Like it or not, the association’s numbers are viewed by national economists and the federal government as reliable.

Homes resold in the third quarter on average nationally had sales prices slightly over one-percent less than the same period in 2005. That is a change from recent years and is historically, unusual. However, after five years of double-digit rises in median home sale prices, the market in 2007 will define what it does or doesn’t mean, long-term. What many headlines failed

real story, yes, not a pretty one in all markets. Stripping away the hype will give you an accurate picture of what did and didn’t happen. The National Association of Realtors released their numbers for the third quarter of 2006. Like it or not, the association’s numbers are viewed by national economists and the federal government as reliable.

Homes resold in the third quarter on average nationally had sales prices slightly over one-percent less than the same period in 2005. That is a change from recent years and is historically, unusual. However, after five years of double-digit rises in median home sale prices, the market in 2007 will define what it does or doesn’t mean, long-term. What many headlines failed

sed their numbers for the third quarter of 2006. Like it or not, the association’s numbers are viewed by national economists and the federal government as reliable.

Homes resold in the third quarter on average nationally had sales prices slightly over one-percent less than the same period in 2005. That is a change from recent years and is historically, unusual. However, after five years of double-digit rises in median home sale prices, the market in 2007 will define what it does or doesn’t mean, long-term. What many headlines failed

d in the third quarter on average nationally had sales prices slightly over one-percent less than the same period in 2005. That is a change from recent years and is historically, unusual. However, after five years of double-digit rises in median home sale prices, the market in 2007 will define what it does or doesn’t mean, long-term. What many headlines failedusual. However, after five years of double-digit rises in median home sale prices, the market in 2007 will define what it does or doesn’t mean, long-term. What many headlines failed to report was the substantial decline in the number of sold properties.

Markets that experienced increases in median prices:

-Beaumont, Texas

-Chicago, Illinois

-New York, New York

-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

-Portland, Oregon

-Salt Lake City, Utah

-San Francisco, California

-Seattle, Washington

-Vancouver, Washington

And the decliners in the third-quarter 2006 average sales-price numbers:

-Boston, Massachusetts

-Detroit, Michigan

-Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

-Miami, Florida

-Providence, Rhode Island

-District of Columbia

-San Diego, California

-Sarasota, Florida

States experiencing major declines in c