The local real estate market is undoubtedly still struggling, but at least one government organization reports housing appreciation here is better than in most other parts of the region.
According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the all-transactions home-price index shows houses in the Lancaster metro area — which encompasses Lancaster County — appreciated 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with the same period the year before.
In contrast, the FHFA said prices nationally dropped 4.5 percent.
The index takes into account purchase prices and refinancing appraisal prices.
Of the 24 metro areas in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware covered by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Lancaster County was just one of nine to post an increase.
The only three with greater appreciation were State College, 4.7 percent; Williamsport, 3.5 percent; and Lebanon, 2.8 percent.
Scott Ulrich, president of the Lancaster County Association of Realtors, said he thinks the county's ability to avoid serious depreciation in prices is perhaps a sign of the local market's stability and that "we didn't have huge appreciation to begin with."
But he also warned that "it's hard to get a clear picture" from just one set of numbers. And he wasn't certain what effect the inclusion of refinancing appraisals had on these figures.
Other nearby population centers were a mixed bag. The Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area reported an increase in housing prices of 1.2 percent while Reading and York-Hanover experienced declines of 2.3 and 1.4 percent, respectively.
The metro areas exhibiting the biggest depreciation were Trenton-Ewing, N.J., and Newark, N.J.-Union, Pa., both at 5.8 percent.
Paula Wolf is a staff writer for the Sunday News. She can be reached by e-mail at pwolf@lnpnews.com. 