Valley housing prices to rise

Home prices are expected to rise nearly 4 percent in both 2007 and 2008.
VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT
Area homeowners, rejoice.
A new survey says the Youngstown metropolitan region will have the fastest-rising housing prices in the Midwest in 2007. Not only that, but the expected 3.8 percent increase is ranked 18th in the nation.
The survey predicts a 3.6 percent rise in 2008.
Not bad for an area where housing prices usually make news only because they are among the lowest in the U.S.
The ranking was released Wednesday on www.cnn.com, which carries online stories for Fortune magazine.
Fortune asked Moody's Economy.com and Fiserve Lending Solutions, a real estate valuation company, to look at the housing markets in the 100 largest metropolitan areas for next year.
For many Americans, the question isn't whether housing prices will fall, but how much, Fortune said. Many parts of the country have been enjoying a boom in housing prices that some think is about to burst.
The survey showed that 36 of the markets are expected to see price declines next year. In 2008, the number rises to 37.
Fortune said the Midwest missed out of much of the boom in housing prices, so it won't suffer if prices fall. None of the metropolitan areas in the Midwest are expected to have declining prices.
Median price
The report listed the median home price in the Youngstown metropolitan area at 79,190.
None of the other 20 areas listed in the Midwest were under 100,000. The next-lowest median home sale price was in Detroit at 107,830.
The report said the McAllen-Mission, Texas, market would grow the fastest next year at 8.5 percent. Its 2008 growth is projected at 9.8 percent. The median home price there is 69,660.