Cities once considered 'stable' now having housing troubles

Cities such as Seattle, Miami and Atlanta, which were previously thought to have survived the recession nearly unscathed, are now experiencing the effects of a collapsing housing market, according to the New York Times.

These markets were expected to fare well in the recession in part because they had not experienced extreme home prices, sales and building expansion prior to it, in comparison with other areas. However, they are now doing worse than some of the most suffering regions. For example, Seattle's home prices declined at a higher rate than those in Las Vegas in the past year, where factors such as unemployment have contributed to decreasing home values, the paper reported.

Many planning to relocate are hoping they can make up money they lose when selling their homes by finding a new house at an affordable value. However, some are hesitant to move, desiring to wait until the market reaches bottom, which is more uncertain than usual.

Those considering moving may actually benefit from selecting an area that was hit early by the recession. These areas may be either nearing the end of their cycle of declining home values and heading back up, according to the Times.  

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