I learned something new today. Apparently, the Tri-Cities economy often runs contrary to the nation’s economy. When the rest of the country is booming, we’re holding steady. When the rest of the country is struggling, we hold steady, and even grow a bit!
In 2001-2003, the US was hit with a recession caused by the collapse of the dot-coms, accounting scandals (Enron, anyone?) and the September 11th attacks. Yet, take a look at what happened in the Tri-Cities during that time period -the average sales price increased by almost 12%! At the end of 2002, the ASP was up by $16,000. And only 23 fewer homes were sold in ’02 than in ’01, so it’s not like it was a supply and demand thing.
We’ll ride through this upcoming storm, too. Sales are down, but with mortgage rates slipping and the Tri-Cities economy holding strong, we’ll find ourselves on the other side of the recession with houses worth more than they were when we went in.
Take a look…
Download the full Tri-City Real Estate stats for November, 2008. (661k PDF)