The Record-Eagle has this article on the decline of home values in the region:

"Property tax assessment notices will begin showing up in regional mailboxes in about a month, and initial studies by county equalization directors in Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie, Antrim and Kalkaska counties show residential assessments will drop on average 6.5 percent in Grand Traverse to 15.5 percent in Antrim.

Values in some townships could fall by 20 percent or more, while a few isolated areas won't see any changes. "The farther you get away from Traverse City, the more residential values drop, said Thomas Longanbach, Benzie County's equalization director."

And this story on the construction industry which continues to struggle:

"It was like somebody dropped a boat anchor," said Robert Meyer, who spent 44 years in the construction business, including the last 21/2 years atop [Leelanau] county's Inspections Department. "We had a great year in '08."

Leelanau's struggles aren't unique. New building in Grand Traverse County dipped to its lowest level of the decade in 2009.

And Antrim, Benzie and Kalkaska counties also reported significant building slowdowns, as the slumping economy shriveled the region's once-thriving building sector to a fraction of record-busting totals just a few years ago.

To read the full story on declining home values, click here.
For the report on the construction industry, click here.

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Photo: A Pond Reflection by jimflix.