Housing Market Not Improving Any Time Soon

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I recently interviewed a real estate expert who told me that there are so many foreclosures on the market today that it would take three years to free up space in inventory for people to sell their homes at a reasonable price.

Also, I did some math on the 1987 stock market crash/recession. Nine years later, housing prices had not yet bounced back. I bought a condo in 1992 in sold it in 1996. At that time (nine years after the crash), it was assessed by the bank for $2,000 less than what we were asking, and what we were asking was $14,000 less than what we paid for it!

Then, in 2002, another six years later, I bought a condo again. At that time, prices were at the top of the range and I was in a bidding war. I actually lost a condo to someone who outbid me by $2,000. So from 1996 to 2002, just six years, prices inflated and went through the roof.

I have been saying all along that this recession is as bad as 1987. So does that mean it will take more than nine years (or even 15 years - the total amount of time it took to go from rock bottom to its peak) for the housing market to recover?  That's my prediction. We are three years into it and this expert told me it would take at least another three years to clear foreclosure inventory. That's six just to level off, then it will take time to get healthy again.

We're all in it for the long haul folks. You might as well paint that room, start that project, or just spend your money on a nice vacation because none of us are going anywhere.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

Democracy in Action

Following the death of Libya's dictator Mohammar Khadafi, I find myself thinking back to the capture and deaths of Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. To have experienced the downfall of three of the world's most horrific dicators in my lifetime is a blessing.

While we have had bad times, such as 9/11, I also feel blessed to have lived to see the fall of communism in the U.S.S.R., and the taking down of the Berlin Wall.

As they say, we haven't won the war yet, but today, we won the battle. God Bless America, NATO, and all soldiers who stand on the side of freedom and equality for all.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.