Nationally, over 6.4 million jobs were lost between 2007 and 2009. During this time, there was a 12% drop in home values and a dramatic increase in foreclosures. It makes sense that home prices and employment would be linked together. Job loss makes it difficult to afford a house payment. So when lots of people lose their jobs, it should have a negative impact on the housing market, right? According to the Urban Institute's Metro Trends data, this is not always the case. While the country as a whole is experiencing double trouble, many metro areas have job loss or falling home prices, but not both. The Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, with stable employment but falling home prices, is one example. Twenty-nine metro areas, including Madison, Wisconsin and Austin, Texas, have stable housing and employment.
Why are some areas experiencing trouble on both fronts while others areas are stable? According to the MetroTrends report:
For most of the metro areas in the "double trouble" group, the sharp downturn followed rapid gains in house prices and employment opportunities earlier in the decade. In fact, the bigger the boom, the harder the fall. House prices across the top 100 metros declined by about 5 percent in 2006-2009 for each 10 percent gain between 2000 and 2006.I guess this means that when it comes to growth in jobs and housing prices, being average is a good thing.
Click here to see the MetroTrends Jobs and Housing Typology of the Top 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
About MetroTrends:
MetroTrends is the Urban Institute's report card on how metropolitan America is faring. It is a great resource with the latest information on social and economic trends in urban America and what they mean for workers, families, businesses, and neighborhoods.
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