Large Amounts of Equity Available even with Price Drops

With all of the doom and gloom in the real estate market it appears that when the media trys to demonstrate some of the positive aspects of the market it often gets missed. Kenneth R. Harvey, of the Washington Post Writers Group was recently published in the LA times with his article, "Price drops are sobering, but the big picture is still rosy".

Here he accurately covers that although there have certainly been price declines, there is substantial liquidity in the market. This is evident in the fact that there is still a large equity position that the many owners have. Here some some of the facts from his artcile:

• Federal Reserve calculated that U.S Homeowners equity accounts total 10.9 Trillion
• In areas like Fort Myers of Florida where they have experienced a 130% jump in the last 5 years, where prices have recently dropped almost 14% still means they are up 116% in the same time period
• Home Builders in Los Angeles state prices fell 5.7% in the last 12 months, but that still means they are up a net 88.9% since 2002

Data like this is often hard to find....why? Does the mainstream media like to sell ads so badly that they instill panic when it isn't well founded? Let's hear your thoughts.