It was the best iof times...

The novel "A Tale of Two Cities" starts off "It was the worst of times, it was the best of times." I thought of that yesterday as I was perusing various real estate news sites. I spotted on headline that read, "Experts say we've bottomed out" and another "Economist says things will remain bad through the summer." Like the novel, I suppose it depends upon where you are and your point of view on things.

We do seem to be in a phase of this recession where things bounce up and down a little everyday, so maybe we are bouncing along the bottom. We get good news about decisions to delay toxic ARM resets right nest to stories about layoffs now causing most foreclosures. I'm still seeing foreclosure sales making up 70% of all sales, but I'm also seeing more owner-occupied homes in prices ranges above $200K sell. Is that a thaw in the deep freeze that those homes have been in?
I'm also getting calls from people who don't necessarily want to look just for foreclosed homes. Certainly they'd like to find a great deal on a foreclosed home that is in good condition; but more and more are actually more interested in getting the right house than just the greatest deal. Many are now realizing the work that might be involved in bringing a neglected house back up to snuff.

I currently have a couple of deals working, which hasn’t happened in quite a while and got a new listing over the last weekend, with two more in the hopper. So for me, things have picked up recently. We still need to get through the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies (if that’s what’s going to happen) and see what emerges on the other side, before outr market will truly start to settle down. So maybe for us we can say, “The worst of times were over, and the best of times were just ahead.” I certainly hope so.