Fayetteville Housing Market

Originally published on Saturday, February 07, 2009 in the Local & State category.

Fayetteville Housing MarketHome values something to appreciate

With real estate prices tumbling across the nation, a report gives comfort to homeowners here.

By Hilary Kraus
Staff writer

Homes in Fayetteville are doing more than just holding their value in these tough times.

A report this week ranked Fayetteville as the No. 1 housing market in the nation for appreciation in the fourth quarter of 2008.

According to Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, houses across most of Cumberland County increased in value 6.9percent compared with a year earlier, while nationally the average value of homes plummeted 11.6 percent. Only 15 out of 162 markets showed any appreciation at all from a year ago, with the most drastic losses in California and Florida, Zillow said.

One year ago, Fayetteville ranked 56th in Zillow’s report. Six months ago, it was 88th.
“That’s really great,” Fayetteville appraiser Tom Keith said about the top ranking. “Realtors would be crazy not to use that as a marketing tool. (Potential buyers) will see from the data that this is a good community to invest in buying a home.”

While Zillow says Fayetteville’s housing stock showed healthy gains, perhaps what thrust this market to the top spot more than any other factor was the catastrophic real estate crash elsewhere. Markets where home values skyrocketed in recent years tumbled the most, especially in late 2008. But Fayetteville, with its military-based economy, is largely immune from drastic highs and lows.

For example, home sales in the Fayetteville market were down about 8.4 percent in 2008, compared with 2007. But that wasn’t as bad as the national numbers, which were down more than 13 percent.

Zillow, which operates a Web site that allows people to look up home values based on its own formula, said the median value in Fayetteville was $112,737 in the fourth quarter.

The median value for single-family homes was $114,158, and $86,211 for condominiums. One year earlier, the overall median value was $103,561.

Zillow’s information includes all homes and not just those for sale, spokeswoman Katie Curnutte said. The data is compiled from public records.

In general, North Carolina has held up well. The Raleigh-Cary market showed depreciation of 2.3 percent.

Cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Miami showed fourth-quarter declines of more than 20 percent.

On a broader scale, Fayetteville shows a healthy track based on a five-year period, Zillow says. Single-family homes appreciated 6.1percent over that period, while condos have appreciated 4.1 percent, Zillow reported.

But not all homeowners should get excited. Zillow said nearly 53 percent of Fayetteville’s housing stock lost value last year, compared with just 2.1 percent showing losses over five years.

The remaining 47 percent of homes gained enough value to offset those declines.

Also, about 17 percent of homes in this market sold at a loss in 2008, meaning they sold for less than their previous purchase price.

Valuation differences

Jay Dowdy, president of the Fayetteville Regional Association of Realtors, said the Zillow report is positive. But he won’t rely on the numbers to entice clients.

“The tax value (that Zillow uses) and the market value are completely different,” said Dowdy, who was not familiar with Zillow. “A lot of the information is tax value-based versus sale-based. Tax value is what the courthouse or county use to evaluate.”
Dowdy said Zillow’s median home value of $112,737 seemed a little low.

According to the Multiple Listing Service, existing houses sold for an average of $129,125 in 2008. New houses averaged $207,329.

The MLS report reflects only sales, and it includes parts of surrounding counties. Zillow’s report covers all homes across most of Cumberland County.

The Zillow report also broke down appreciation by Fayetteville neighborhoods. The homes in the 28306 ZIP code — the southwestern part of Cumberland County — appreciated the most with a healthy 19 percent from a year earlier.

In 28348, which is Hope Mills, homes appreciated 13.2percent.

Dowdy was not surprised. The 28306 area is among the most desirable among homebuyers because of the large stock of new houses and the Jack Britt High School district.

Newly constructed homes in those neighborhoods range in price from $250,000 to $450,000, Dowdy said.
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WE’RE NO. 1
Zillow.com says the Fayetteville market had the highest appreciation in home values during the fourth-quarter of 2008. That’s out of 163 markets. See Page 4A for a closer look at Zillow’s rankings:

THE TOP 10
1. Fayetteville, N.C.
2. Yakima, Wash.
3. Utica-Rome, N.Y.
4. Bay City, Mich.
5. Oklahoma City, Okla.
7. Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
8. Sumter, S.C.
9. Jacksonville, N.C.
10. Burlington, N.C.
OTHER N.C. CITIES
24. Winston-Salem30. Raleigh-Cary
39. Durham
45. Charlotte- Gastonia-Concord
52. Greensboro-High Point
THE BOTTOM 5
159. Madera, Calif.
160. Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario, Calif.
161. Stockton, Calif.
162. Salinas, Calif.
163. Modesto, Calif.

SOURCE: Zillow.com HOME VALUES

Zillow.com says the Fayetteville market had the highest appreciation in home values in the U.S. during the fourth-quarter of 2008, when compared to the same period in 2007. That’s out of 163 markets, most of which saw real estate values plummet during 2008. The national average was an 11.6 percent depreciation in home values during fourth quarter. Here are Zillow’s rankings, which it bases on its own formula. The estimates include all housing, in cluding condos.

TOP 10
1. Fayetteville, N.C. Median value of homes: $122,737 Change from 4Q 2007: +6.9% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 17.2%
2. Yakima, Wash. Median value of homes: $134,545 Change from 4Q 2007: +6.2% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 12.9%
3. Utica-Rome, N.Y. Median value of homes: $ 107,595 Change from 4Q 2007: +5.3% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 12.4%
4. Bay City, Mich. Median value of homes: $98,560 Change from 4Q 2007: +3.6% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 36.1%
5. Oklahoma City, Okla. Median value of homes: $114,923 Change from 4Q 2007: + 3.5% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 36.1%
6. Anderson, S.C. Median value of homes: $105,128 Change from 4Q 2007: +3.1% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 19.6%
7. Champaign-Urbana, Ill. Median value of homes: $134,638 Change from 4Q 2007: +2.3% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 13.4%
8. Sumter, S.C. Median value of homes: $116,598 Change from 4Q 2007: +2.0% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 16.8%
9. Jacksonville, N.C. Median value of homes: $137,004 Change from 4Q 2007: +1.5% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 2.9%
10. Burlington, N.C. Median value of homes: $121,219 Change from 4Q 2007: +0.5% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 27.7%

OTHER N.C. CITIES

24. Winston-Salem, N.C. Median value of homes: $131,495 Change from 4Q 2007: -1.2% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 25.4%
30. Raleigh-DurhamMedian value of homes: $199,365 Change from 4Q 2007: -2.5% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 15.3%
39. Durham, N.C. Median value of homes: $172,235 Change from 4Q 2007: -3.1% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 15.3%
45. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C. Median value of homes: $155,760 Change from 4Q 2007: -3.7% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 24.6%
52. Greensboro-High Point, N.C. Median value of homes: $137,974 Change from 4Q 2007: -4.2% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 21.6%

BOTTOM 5

159. Madera, Calif. Median value of homes: $176,068 Change from 4Q 2007: -30.3% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 64.5%
160. Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario, Calif. Median value of homes: $225,949 Change from 4Q
2007: -30.8% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 65.5%
161. Stockton, Calif. Median value of homes: $194,097 Change from 4Q 2007: -31.7% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 69.7%
162. Salinas, Calif. Median value of homes: $352,885 Change from 4Q 2007: -32.9% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 62.1%
163. Modesto, Calif. Median value of homes: $168,528 Change from 4Q 2007: -33.4% Percentage of homes sold at a loss in 4Q 2008: 62.1%

HOW’S YOUR NEIGHBOR HOOD?

Here’s how Zillow estimated median home values by ZIP codes in the fourth quarter, along with year-over-year change.

28301 (Fayetteville)Home values: $88,941 Year-over-year change: 9.9 %
28303 (Fayetteville) Home values: $112,941 Year-over-year change: 2.2%
28304 (Fayetteville) Home values: $96,000 Year-over-year change: 0.3%
28305 (Fayetteville) Home values: $158,118 Year-over-year change: 9.8 %
28306 (Fayetteville) Home values: $128,000 Year-over-year change: 19.3%
28311 (Fayetteville ) Home values: $124,706 Year-over-year change: 5.8%
28312 (Fayetteville) Home values: $115,294 Year-over-year change: 12.4%
28314 (Fayetteville) Home values: $112,471 Year-over-year change: 4.1 %
28348 (Hope Mills) Home values: $124,235 Year-over-year change: 13.9%
28356 (Linden) Home values: $151,059 Year-over-year change: 12.2%
28371 (Parkton) Home values: $117,176 Year-over-year change: 11.0%
28390 (Spring Lake) Home values: $88,941 Year-over-year change: 4.2%
28391 (Stedman) Home values: $104,941 Year-over-year change: 8.0 %

SOURCE: Zillow.com

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