I AM STILL ALIVE. THANK YOU!

Excuse me, if I feel a little like a wounded animal. Why, you say? Because everyone who knows me knows I’m in real estate and wants to know if I am doing okay. Or, as they put it, "Are you surviving!"

I am happy to report, I am alive and well, thank you. In fact, some would say we are beginning to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. Though some economistd are still talking about a possible upcoming recession, some are saying, "Hold on, not so fast." The UCLA Anderson Forecast (which tends to be quite conservative) came out with a report stating recession is unlikely. According to Edward Leamer, director and co-author of the forecast, "We still think an official recession is not in the immediate future." This, with the strong report we just had on employment being up, and the fact we are holding steady on the unemployment number at 4.7%, are all positive signs. This, and the fact that the President, Congress and financial institutions are taking our mortgage lending problems seriously, all indicate that we may be out of the woods in the next twelve months or sooner.

The other bit of positive news is that we are seeing a number of sellers taking their listings off the market and renting them or deciding to remarket them in the first part of 2008, or later. This is beginning to have the effect of reducing listing inventories. As I have mentioned in the past, if you don’t really need to sell, or aren’t serious about selling, don’t put your home on the market - it will just sit there!

Price reductions continue to drive more sales. As sellers continue to become more realistic about the current environment and reduce their list prices, buyers are eager to seize the opportunity. In my own family, my daughter and son-in-law listened to their real estate agent (no, it wasn’t me listing their home as they live out of area), and reduced the price of their home to the point they were the most competitive home in their subdivision. This helped them put together a sale within weeks. Good advice, good results.

My last point, there are still serious buyers out there as we enter the holiday season. People who need to buy, who want to be in their new home to start 2008 will still be looking during the Christmas holidays. Serious agents will still be working, and as we close the year, I am confident that there are better times ahead. I am entering my 29th year in this business and it is still just as rewarding as it was when I started. Happy Holidays...