Well, its mid-summer, the weather is warm, the banks are in trouble, and the real estate market is still struggling. The Upper Valley is still somewhat insulated from the really serious problems persisting in some other areas of the country. Nevertheless, foreclosure notices are more frequent in the newspaper, sale prices are still dropping, and inventories are higher than ever.

Part of the problem is that, for some reason, in this country, there never seems to be any middle ground in anything any more. Two years ago, every Tom, Dick and Harry who could hold a fountain pen could get a mortgage for more than they could ever hope to repay without any due diligence on the part of the lenders; and now, in reaction to the foregone debacle that had to happen, the mortgage marketplace has been filled with stupid restrictions, rules, and underwriting absurdities that make it supremely difficult for even the most qualified applicants to borrow the money to buy a home. Here's an idea --- how about a set of mortgage guidelines and regulations that allow qualified borrowers to get their loan without an FBI clearance and do not allow people with bad credit and insufficient income to borrow more than they can afford?

This is just another symptom of a nation hopelessly and almost evenly divided on almost every question. The media have led our nation's leaders to espouse wild hyperbole in order to grab a sound bite while anyone who simply supports a common sense solution is not newsworthy. Not everything is a "horse race". An election is not an episode of American Idol and governance is about compromise for the good of the whole, not endless infighting for the benefit of the elected.

I know, I know - Somewhere in the not too distant past of this blog, I promised not to get into politics. The problem is that the biggest part of this debacle is CAUSED by politics; bad political decisions made by incompetent, do-nothing leaders. Governance by sound bite, reaction rather than pro-action, damage and spin control rather than prevention, greed and arrogance rather than integrity and patriotism and on and on.

Anyway, there are currently 130 houses for sale in Hartford, VT and 141 in Lebanon, NH; both all-time highs in my experience with no end in sight. It looks like sales prices will continue downward, along with net usable income, while the price of fuel, food and health-care continues upward with every day bringing a new insult. And so - sadly - that's the update. Hoping for better news next time.......