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No Normal (Yet) for Real Estate Market
 A few months ago, I thought I could stop issuing reports on the region's housing market because it appeared to be normalizing. Data now reveals that this is not the case. On the 24th, the Plain Dealer reported that prices fell in September by the same rate they had fallen in August. While the region's prices did not fall as rapidly as the other cities in the index over the last year, area prices remain at 2000 levels, while elsewhere they are at 2003. The day before, the Plain Dealer reported that state-wide sales in October had risen 3.6% from the preceding month and 7% from the preceding year. However, credit was almost entirely due to the about-to-expire tax credit. It appears that we will not be able to judge if we are back to normal until next summer, when the life support provided by the tax credit expires and accelerating sales have reduced the excess inventory.
In the meantime, take heart. A law professor in Arizona has provided justification, on moral and financial grounds, for strategic defaults by homeowners who are under water. I am awaiting a follow-up article addressing the impact of that idea on something other than that professor's tenure prospects.
As always, I appreciate the time you have taken to review this e-newsletter. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future articles.
Jim Dixon
216-515-1642
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