The city of Dayton, Ohio, may have escaped the real estate bubble, but it has been burdened by other problems. It has been bleeding automotive manufacturing jobs for the past seven years, and that has hammered its housing market.
Since 2000, the Dayton area has lost about 30,000 manufacturing jobs, said Richard Stock, director of the University of Dayton Business Research Group.
The housing market hit a snag last year after General Motors announced that it would be closing its plant in nearby Moraine, affecting about 1,100 workers. In December, home sales were down 10.3% compared with a year earlier. And for the year, sales plummeted 16.1%. More...
