That happened in Akron in the 1960s and '70s, when the tire factories began to close. Home values stagnated, even as they climbed elsewhere. As this area recovered from the Rust Belt times, housing regained its momentum. Between 1979 and 1999, the median sale price of existing homes in the United States climbed 132 percent. In the Akron metropolitan area during that period, prices climbed at about the same pace, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Homes are where people invest a big part of their lives.
It's where they want to raise their children, come home after work, and bank their futures. In turn, housing prices are a reflection of a family's wealth and a region's prosperity. They show how attractive an area is in jobs, schools, shopping, recreation and general quality of life. In the Akron area, the news is mostly good. If you own a small home, January's figures carried good news.