Chicken Little Grows Bigger

But it doesn't matter very much. The National Association of Realtors says that it forecasts the very first drop in average home sale price EVER. That's right. Never in the history of the NAR has the average year-over-year sale price dropped, but the forecast is that it will this year.

By .7%. That's not 7%. It's point seven percent. In other words, a $300,000 house would decline in value by $210.

It is perhaps accurate to say at this point that the sky doesn't appear to be falling.

It's also clear from the report that most of the decline, piddly as it is, is coming from the East and West coasts, where the declines are as large as 10%, and not from the flyover states (hooray!), where there are only a few places declining and most rising a little. Utah appears to be headed for a 7% increase this year, which ought to be in the top 10 in the nation. Nobody's going to get rich quick at 7%, but that's a decent return nonetheless.

Of course I should mention here - per usual - that none of this data has any relevance to YOUR house. Within a place as small as Lehi, there are massive variances in property valuations, including both increases and decreases. Get professional help.

Apropos of that, please visit www.harryrodas.com. Harry, as most of you know, is our Realtor of choice bceause he's the best there is. He's running a contest where you can win tickets to the July 4 Stadium of Fire show in Provo. It's always a great show, and Harry is generously giving away those tickets and other prizes to those that enter. Do it.