Prices have remained stable for the past year or two, neither falling nor rising dramatically.

At the national level, a report issued Tuesday said housing prices took a record nosedive from September 2007 to September 2008. That report was based on the S&P Case-Shiller national price index.

A different index developed by First American CoreLogic shows home prices declined by a statistically insignificant amount year to year in the Temple area.

And data from the Texas A&M Real Estate Center show that year-to-date, home sales prices have risen by about 2 percent each year, 2006 through September 2008, according to Troy Glasson, director of government affairs for the Temple Area Home Builders Association.

While that’s good news for the Temple area, Glasson said the bad national news is creating fear in the local housing marketplace.

“People are inundated with negative reports,” he said. “These reports are scaring people away from home ownership. It’s getting harder to sell homes.”

The median home-sales price in September in Temple-Belton was $113,000.

Carroll Wilson