How is YOUR real esatate market

How local is YOUR real estate market? It may be different in your neighborhood than it is your daughter's best friend's neighborhood on the other side of the school district.There is an adage that says real estate is hyperlocal. It is usually used to indicate that all markets are not the same, and do not operate in the same direction at the same time. While this may be an overgeneralization, it is the case that we've seen different markets hit their peaks and troughs at different times and to widely varying degrees, based on the peculiarities of their local market. Las Vegas homes have lost about 60 percent of their value since their peak, while homes in Pittsburgh have lost less than 1 percent of their value, on average. That's hyperlocal. Follows is a short list of factors that cause a neighborhood, city, county or state to have its own real estate environment that operates independently from nearby areas or the national market at large: Jobs: Areas that are job centers and have major employers in the area, with low unemployment rates and current or projected job growth, have different real estate market dynamics than other markets, largely because people want to buy homes where jobs are. Universities: College-town real estate tends to be recession-proof compared to other towns, as towns anchored by one or more large universities tend to have a relatively steady and robust economic center and a constantly replenished demand for housing both for sale and for rent, in the form of students, faculty and staff members, and the workforce of the businesses that support the school(s). Population booms: Districts that are experiencing an uptick in population -- whether by birth or by incoming migration -- also often experience their own real estate microclimates. It may come as a surprise that there are many cities and states in the U.S. that are actually experiencing net population decreases, as people move out for various reasons, including lack of jobs and affordable housing. Again, it's all about demand. Overbuilding: Where homes are vastly overbuilt, as they were at the top of the market in the Sun Belt foreclosure hot spots like Arizona, Nevada, Florida and some parts of California, a microclimate of oversupply can develop. So what does this mean? Don't pay any attention to Good Morning America or the ladies on the View when they try to tell you about your home value going up or down....Ask a LOCAL Expert. Ask a REALTOR in your neighborhood who you trust. Not all REALTORS are created equal.