I am and always have been a firm believer in posi­tive thinking, faith, the law of attraction, “the Secret” or what ever title you may want to give it. I believe that POSITIVE is POWERFUL.

With that said I’d like to share some positive points on the real estate market with my readers.

According to 1st quar­ter price and sales figures released on May 15, 2008 by the National Association of Realtors, the Atlantic City area is in a sweet spot of the nation’s real estate market.

Median home prices increased 4.8 percent in the Atlantic County market from the 1st quarter of last year, better than the 3.2 percent rise for the Northeast region. New Jersey was one of just three states (besides Indiana & Alaska) where home sales increased from the year-ago period, rising 4% to 169,600 units sold in the first quarter.

While home prices dropped in two-thirds of the 149 met­ropolitan areas surveyed by the National Association of Realtors the Atlantic City metro area – all of Atlantic County – saw its median home price rise from $264,600 to 277,400 during the same period.

In Real Estate we Trust

Many of today’s consumers have long-term confidence in the housing market, according to recent research. Fifty-nine percent of those polled in a recent Associated Press-AOL Money & Finance survey said that now is a good time to buy a home, and nearly 54 percent of people surveyed in a recent Reuters/Zogby Index agree.

Building Wealth

A wealth of housing data clearly demonstrates that housing is a good long-term investment. According to a study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 60 percent of a homeowner’s wealth is from the equity they have built in their home. A Federal Reserve study has shown that the average homeowner’s net worth is 46 times the net worth of the aver­age renter. On average home prices double every 10 years.

Most people conclude it’s not the best time to sell BUT keep in mind…

Whatever you lose on the sale of your home, you will gain in the savings you’ll get on the home that you buy. Homebuyers and sellers who wait for a “better time” will most likely see higher interest rates and fewer home choices. Historically, we’ll look back in 5 or 10 years and say this was a time when smart buy­ers jumped back into the market and took advantage of lower prices and historically low interest rates.