THINGS ARE LOOKING UP — A LITTLE

Everytime you watch the news there seems 

to be nothing but bad news.  I agree there’s a lot to be concerned about, however, we are seeing a slight improvement in the housing market as compared to same quarter last year.  There’s no doubt that homes have lost value, we all know that.  But, what is interesting is that there are signs of improvements as far as number of listings, which is down, and the number of closings, which are up.  

The foreclosure market and the first time home buyers has definitely fed that.  I believe we’ll continue to see a little improvement until such time as the interest rates are up and the buyer pool once again shrinks.  These are unchartered waters for everyone and only time will tell.  I’ve always been a very positive person and I still believe that the American people are made of some pretty strong stuff.  I also believe that there is opportunity here in Arizona.  I believe we may see an influx of people to our state because of the weather and the potential opportunity here.  We have terrific universities and hopefully those young people graduating will remain here to help grow our economy.