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When real estate news is reported on television or in the papers, it's usually told as a national story.  Unfortunately, stories like these aren't helpful for everyday Americans because real estate is not a national market. 

Real estate is local.

The graph above was used by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in a speech to Columbia Business School earlier this week.  Using data from conforming mortgage fundings, it shows the change in home prices from year-to-year on a county level.

Any county not in red increased in value. 

In other words, contrary to what reporters tell us, real estate is retaining its value just fine nationwide.  Aside from a few counties and states, most areas appreciated.

Graphics like this put important real estate issues in perspective.  Home values may falling precipitously in some areas, but those neighborhoods represent just a fraction of the country overall.

In most regions, home values are up.