Study predicts long-term growth

Moody's Economy.com is bullish on the Charleston housing market.

The Pennsylvania economic data provider, which frequently crunches numbers and produces forecasts for major business publications, has once again put the Lowcountry on its list of regions that are expected to recover swiftly from the economic recession's crushing blow.

Their latest study, compiled for U.S. News and World Report, listed 10 markets where home values are expected to grow the most during the next decade. Charleston ranked No. 7 with home prices increasing "an average of more than 5 percent annually over the next 10 years."

That would reverse the pattern of home price declines that the region's Charleston Trident Association of Realtors has recorded the last two years. The region's annual median home price peaked in 2007 at $209,742, then fell 3 percent in 2008 and another 9.3 percent last year to $181,286.

The region's rosy forecast was attributed to its tourism, economy-stabilizing military presence and Boeing Co. 's plan to build a 787 Dreamliner jet assembly facility in North Charleston, creating thousands of jobs.

The study also named: No. 1. Silverdale, Wash. for its military presence and beauty; No. 2. Glen Falls, N.Y., for its medical industry boom; No. 3. Corvallis, Ore. for its creative entrepreneurial spirit; No. 4. Santa Fe., N.M., for its tourism and position as a government hub; and No. 5. Decatur, Ill., for its agribusiness and stable home price history.

It's important to note that my hometown of Duluth, Minn., was ranked No. 6 in the study. Though the region didn't land a $750 million jet assembly facility, home prices stayed affordable during the broader housing boom. And you really can't put a price on the fun of shoveling snow.

Working on it

Banks are eager to refinance mortgages for home- owners who have equity in their properties and a steady source of income. And they're lowering payments for thousands of financially strapped homeowners who can't afford them but still have a job.

Without work? Often, you're out of luck. The Mortgage Bankers Association is trying to work its way around that problem. The trade group is proposing a new program that would dramatically lower a homeowner's mortgage payment for nine months while they look for a job.

The program, if adopted, would be a temporary measure to help keep the unemployed in their homes until they have a source of income that would qualify them for the federal administration's Home Affordable Modification Program.

The MBA program would link mortgage lenders with federal money. Last week, administration officials announced a plan to provide $1.5 billion to state housing agencies with the mission to develop assistance programs for unemployed homeowners, among other things.

Reach Katy Stech at kstech@postandcourier.com.