Thursday, August 27, 2009

Home Sweet Home plus Home Prices


We are back in Connecticut and it truly is good to be home. Facing two months of mail and half-processed emails? Not so good. I am sure I am not the only one that treats September 1st as the New Year. With school age kids it is a natural new beginning with a fresh set of resolutions and priorities. Although I know the ‘to do list’ is a life necessity, last night I actually dreamt I was being strangled by it. Good thing one of the items on it was to learn to meditate to decrease stress. All good. All good.

The headlines over the past few days were filled with “Signs of Life” over New Home Sales, with many calling for the end of the housing crisis. It was also reported on Wednesday that the “latest Standard and Poor’s Case Shiller home price index showed improvement in 18 of the 20 cities tracked.” (NYT) Again, better news, just not good news. From a person who has two properties on the market, one in Canada and one here, from where I sit the market continues to be down and dead. ( granted we are at a higher price point on both properties)

The key to the end of the recession is employment. The pom poms seem to be coming out when the numbers entering in to unemployment from one month to the next stop getting worse, but the key will be for them to turn positive, which still seems a way off. I have read many reports that suggest when you account for those underemployed or those seeking employment yet not part of the ‘unemployed count’ the actual percentage is in the mid to upper teens. Not good. Watch those numbers for true signs of recovery.

Happy end of summer to all….

1 comment:

High CD Rates said...

No I don't believe that housing crisis is over as yet. Although I believe that the worst of it is over and we can now see the conditions improving, but nothing can be said about the real estate market.