I have to tell you, faithful readers, I am already tired to death of hearing about Scott Brown and he's not even been seated yet. The apparent lord and savior of the oh so tired Republican Party is the newly anointed knight in shining armor who should be able to fix everything that is wrong with the good ol' USA by applying good conservative philosophy, bringing back traditional values (whatever those are) and a melange of all of the other weary, jingoistic, crapola being screeched by Glenn Beck, Limbaugh and the other fools of talk radio.

But-- this time its different. This guy isn't a bad suit wearing, touched up gray coiffed, double talking, back-biting, cigar chomping, bug eyed, jowl shaking, red-faced conservative grieving the loss of "family values" (whatever those are). No, no, no, no. He's an urbane, flannel shirt wearing, pickup driving, God fearing, family man who does his daughter's laundry from time to time and also, in his spare time, poses nude for the odd national magazine (no, not the National Enquirer). Plus he has chutzpa - Hell, he's not even seated and is already wanting to make a meeting with President Obama, presumably to set him straight on a few things by bringing his vast national political experience to bear on the key issues of our times.

But I digress. The point is that this is a brand new Republican, a sophomore in the Sarah Palin High School of populist theory. The Democrats are now operating in total fear of Scotty! But it is not Mr. Brown that we should all be afraid of.  The really scary thing is the phenomenon that helped bring him to office. I'll call it the American Idol Electoral Process. It goes like this:

Let's not worry about what our leaders know. Let's pick the prettiest one and the one who wears a costume that is more familiar to us working stiffs, and also is maybe the best dancer or dress designer or cake baker or top chef. Next we should simply forget about actual elections and  have a panel of D-list pseudo-celebrities vet the candidates and then we all call a 900 number as many times as we can afford to vote our favorite into office.

        

t's a new year and we are getting ready to celebrate the "new normal" in real estate, which is something pretty different than the "old normal" from the recent past. It is this concept that guides my 2010 predictions, so get ready!<< MORE >>

Here we are at the end of another year and yet another s***head from Al Quaeda is trying to blow himself up, not with a bomb in his shoe, but this time with a bomb in his underwear. So what can we glean from this?<< MORE >>

Hi Folks -

Just a note to let you all know that I will be taking a break until the first of the New Year. After that, we get into predictions, projections, recaps and more.

Happy Holidays to All!

        

I have already written about how unemployment trickles down to an already destroyed real estate market and prevents a real recovery. But what I didn't talk about is the social cost of pervasive and extended unemployment. When we talk about the practical side of folks losing their jobs we focus on well, the practical. People who become unemployed and particularly those that stay that way for a while suffer:<< MORE >>

        

In all of the palaver over the potential extension of the first time home buyer's tax credit program, the cash for clunkers program, and so on, the one thing that does not seem to be getting any attention is the fact that unemployment is still climbing and climbing. The talking heads on TV and elsewhere are making much of the status of the housing market and whether it has "hit bottom" or whether it's "rebounding".<< MORE >>

Hi again faithful followers - It's been a long time since I have had a chance to jot down some thoughts and observations. The real estatemarket has been very active and I have been super busy with rental turnover and assisting buyers and sellers in purchasing, in many cases, their first home. But with all of the hoopla over the arrival of the cast and crew from Extreme Home Makeover here in the Upper Valley, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share my thoughts (which I expect will be unpopular) about this show and its "mission".<< MORE >>

I just read the below in CNNMoney.com. It underscores what is being reported locally and is worth reading as a cheery contrast to the last year of gloom and doom. Once again, I expect this trend to continue as first timers start flooding the market to take advantage of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8000. The program ends on November 30, 2009.<< MORE >>

As summer comes to a close in what has touted to be the worst recession in many a year, it appears that the Upper Valley has escaped relatively unscathed so far. The first quarter of the year was pretty dead in the real estate world, but since April, activity has steadily picked up and sales are becoming more frequent every month that goes by. Of course, much of the activity has been first time buyers taking advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity for the government to actually pay up to $8000 if you buy a home.<< MORE >>