Times Change

This somewhat anecdotal stuff rankles my inner social scientist, but perhaps things are changing a bit.

Economists say home prices are no where near hitting bottom. But even in regions that have taken a beating, some neighborhoods remain practically unscathed. And there's a pattern emerging as to which neighborhoods those are.

The ones with short commutes are fairing better than places with long drives into the city. Some analysts see a pause in what's long been inexorable—urban sprawl.

...

Realtor Danilo Bogdanovic surveyed two rows of neat new brick town homes on Falkner's Lane. "These were selling for about $550,000 at the peak, which was about August 05, and they're selling right now for about $350,000," Bogdanovic said.

"So $200,000 in a year and a half and fifty 50 of this community has been ether foreclosed on or is facing foreclosure."

For residents who work in the city, their commute is around an hour on trouble-free days. But that could extend upward toward two hours very quickly.

...

But construction in town has held steady. Goldberg sees other cities rebounding too, including Baltimore and Philadelphia.

"Philadelphia was loosing downtown housing and in town housing until very recently," Goldberg said. "And now that's the hottest part of their market."