Prices dropping even in the priciest of areas

My family and I are on vacation today in Loudon County, Va., home to sprawling estates and rolling hills.

We’ve vacationed here quite often, and have always been amazed at the prices of homes here. They make housing prices in our Chicago suburb, which I’ve always considered high, seem modest.

 Seems the housing slump, though, has hit this area, too. We were driving to a quaint rural town yesterday when we saw new construction homes rising in a field. They were big, too. And their asking price? The mid-500,000s.

That may not seem cheap to most of you. But for this area, for new construction, it is definitely cheap. Two years ago, those houses would have gone on the market for $800,000.

So, again, there is new evidence that the housing slump is impacting all areas of the country.