Don Zeigler dot Info

National housing markets have West Virginians in a state of panic. But according to local banks and Realtors, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Local banks are reporting business as usual; in fact, they are reporting a 3 percent jump in the lending market since last year. And improvement for 2009 is forecast for the housing market in general.

According to the State Journal, the state’s real estate market has been protected from predatory lending and foreclosures seen in larger states like California, Florida and Arizona. National trends have made getting a house loan here a little harder, but it is by no means impossible, or even that difficult. Lending guidelines have definitely changed, but if you have a good credit score it is still possible to buy a home with little to nothing down, and get a low interest rate on the loan.

As one example of the many positive sides of the issue, earlier this year Gov. Joe Manchin went to the West Virginia Housing Development Fund board of directors and asked them to come up with a plan that would keep West Virginia from suffering the same housing slump now plaguing the national economy.

The board responded by unanimously approving an economic stimulus package that not only should help keep the state’s affordable housing market on the right track, but put many deserving families in their own homes, and keep existing homeowners from losing theirs. The Housing Development Fund can provide 30-year mortgages at interest rates as low as 4.99 percent. They also increased the Closing Cost Assistance Program to provide loans for as much as $5,000 to cover the larger cash contributions needed from families buying a home.

Housing Predictor, a company that provides independent real estate market forecasts, states that “Home prices in most of West Virginia didn’t go through the roof during the real estate boom, and as a result the state is handling the national real estate recession strongly. West Virginia’s thriving economy also drives the housing markets with good employment growth.”

The West Virginia Association of Realtors reports that West Virginia’s housing market is bucking the national trend.

“While there is no question some areas in the country are being hit hard, the market in our state is still stable,” says Raymond I. Joseph, Chief Executive Officer. “While some national markets are declining by as much as 20 and 30 percent, the median sale price of a home in West Virginia has only fallen by $7000 or around 8 percent in the first quarter of 2008.”

The area public needn’t buy into the fear so rampant throughout much of the rest of the country. They should check with their local real estate companies for the complete facts about the housing market in West Virginia. Buyers and sellers should not be taken in by the endless horror stories foisted upon them by the national media, and recycled all too often by local media outlets.

It’s all too easy to focus on the negative. The truth is, there are many positive developments going on, of which those reported above are only a few. Unfortunately the public doesn’t know about them because they receive scant mention in print or television.

Note: this is an editorial I wrote which was published in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Kudos to them for taking the initiative to help get the true facts about the local housing market out.