NC Real Estate: Let's set the record straight

Kudos to the NCAR for assembling and publishing superlatives on NC Real Estate: http://www.ncrealtors.org/uploads/FortheRecord11-09.pdf

HOMEOWNERSHIP
> First-time homebuyers continue to fuel the housing
rebound. In the first seven months of 2009, first-time
homebuyers – mostly between the ages of 25 and 45 –
accounted for nearly 50 percent of home sales.
> N.C. existing home sales posted its fourth consecutive
month of improvement in September, the longest period
of monthly gains in more than five years.
> While nationwide housing production remained virtually
unchanged in September, the South registered a 7.5 percent
gain for the month, making it the only region in the
country to post an increase in construction starts.
> Over the past three years, nearly half of all states have
recorded home price gains in the majority of their metro
areas, particularly in the South, the Plains, and most of
the non-coastal West.

ECONOMY
> The nation's gross domestic product – the broadest
measure of the government's total goods and services
produced – expanded at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in
the quarter that ended in September. Up until the third
quarter, the GDP had been shrinking for nearly a year.
> N.C. continues to top a wide range of rankings. In
October alone, Asheville was named among the top 10
best affordable places to retire; Durham was predicted to
be one of the top cities to post a big rebound; and Raleigh
was named one of the top locations for newcomers.
> N.C. ranks as the sixth most popular state in the nation
when it comes to where people want to live, according to
a recent Harris Interactive poll.
> Federal stimulus money sent directly to N.C. state
agencies has saved or created at least 24,000 jobs,
according to the North Carolina Office of Economic
Recovery and Investment.

FORECLOSURE FACTS
> National foreclosure rates soared in the third quarter,
with one in every 136 homes going into foreclosure.
North Carolina, however, had the 14th-lowest foreclosure
rate in the nation, with one in every 417 homes going
into foreclosure.
> North Carolina's State Home Foreclosure Prevention
Project has helped more than 2,100 families prevent
foreclosure since its inception in January. Fight NC
Foreclosure, sponsored by NC REALTORS® and other
groups, is an extension of this Foreclosure Prevention
project. The campaign highlights a toll-free number,
1-866-234-4857, and a website: www.fightncforeclosure.
org.
> The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, which
operates affordable housing programs in the state, was
recently awarded $895,350 in federal money that will be
used to help stem the tide of home foreclosures. This is
the third grant the agency has received, with funds
representing nearly $6 million. So far, the effort is
credited with helping more than 1,100 residents stay in
their homes.