House Prices Dropping in Jackson...Hmmm, Wonder Why?

From the AP via The O:

Figures compiled by appraiser Roy Wright show that 184 single-family homes were sold in Jackson County last month — 11 more than in April 2006. It's the first time since August 2005 that more homes were sold in a month compared to the same month in the previous year.

The jump in sales was accompanied by a 7.1 percent drop in the median sales price — to $257,200, according to figures supplied by the Southern Oregon Multiple Listing Service.

"I've been in this business for 20 years and for 19 years real estate only went up or flattened, then it went down," Stephanie Horton, principal broker at Windermere Investors Marketplace in Jacksonville, told the Mail-Tribune newspaper. "It remains a buyers' market, but buyers are trickling out. For little more than a year, there weren't any buyers, and I had a lot of people tell me 'I'm waiting to see how low it goes.' "

There are roughly 2,350 homes on the market, up 41 percent from a year ago. That reflects a larger housing stock and the return of sellers who took their homes off the market during the winter.

I have no facts, quotes or supporting evidence to buttress this claim--but do you think home prices have hit the skids, just MAYBE because people thinking of moving there have noticed that the libraries are closed and the county government is axing a bunch of workers, and that current residents don't seem to care enough to fight to restore them?

Just asking, is all...