Regular HW readers probably know I got my start in the default side of the mortgage industry — and I usually cringe when I see how non-financial media handle interviews with industry experts. But Luke Mullins over at US News hits one out of the park today with none other than Integrated Asset Services’ own Ryan Tomazin.

The bottom line? Price mostly suck, but don’t suck everywhere. It’s something worth remembering as we work our way out of the credit crunch:

With all the horror stories about souring mortgages and plummeting home prices, it’s easy to conclude that the housing crisis has hit each American neighborhood with equal force. But that’s not at all the case, says Ryan Tomazin, the director and chief financial officer of Integrated Asset Services, which tracks real estate prices for banks, investors, and others. Using the company’s proprietary data, Tomazin explores the striking divergence of home prices within the state of Colorado and argues that the alarm over falling home values at the national level has overshadowed local pockets of surprising strength.

The rest of the interview is worth reading.

The data used for the story was IAS’ own collateral valuation technology, developed in partnership with the folks over at IntelliReal. In a prior life as editor of a different publication, I had the chance to see the technology up-close while it was still in development. It’s a very powerful platform based on Intellireal’s unique set of data — and, frankly, something you wouldn’t usually expect to see coming out the REO side of the business.

I’m doubly glad to see US News get it right, especially after CEO Dave McCarthy was unfortunately quoted in a horrible piece by the Chicago Tribune earlier this week that sent a prior BuzzPost rocketing off into outer space. Not that it’s McCarthy’s fault — you’d think between three reporters working on one story, at least one would be able to understand the basic difference between foreclosures and REO.