SHOULD I TRY TO HOLD UP THE SKY OR ENJOY THE SUNSHINE?

When reading all of the opinions expressed about our economy, the purported challenges are formidable...if not down right depressing. This morning alone I have read such phrases as "most of us are worse off than three years ago"," ...we are in for another year of tough times" and "the Great Depression is still coming home to roost...". Sure, there are rays of hope, but they are few and far between.

The question that immediately comes to mind is "What can I do about it?" Certainly my vote counted forsomething this year. After all, wasn't there a great upset? I wish I had great faith that our government "gets it", but I am not optimistic. History has proved otherwise. I can certainly donate my time and what little bit of money I can spare (which isn't much, unfortunately). What else?

I have often wondered what would happen if our economy completely failed. We are still here. Our families are still here. Buildings and land is still here. Are we going to struggle? Absolutely. Is it going to get more depressing? No doubt. Are we going to die? I doubt it.

So, what do we do about this economy? I, for one, am just going to keep on keeping on. I can't hold up the sky. It is just too far away and intangible. What I can do is enjoy my day-to-day life. I will hug my grandchildren and shock my husband by cooking dinner more often. I will give my dogs their daily quota of "cookies" and enjoy their adoration. I will work all I can to support my family. I will sculpt, walk, play sudoku and chat with my neighbors. I will just keep living...the alternative isn't an option.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS STATS ARE OUT!

I don't know about you, but I love charts, graphs and statistics. It is an easy way to get an overall view of what is happening in the real estate industry. The new National Association of REALTORS just came out, so I thought I would share a few of the more interesting stats.

10 Years - the median number of years first-time homebuyers stay in their home,

152% - the percentage of increase in value for those homeownes who stay in their home 21 years or more

89% - the percentage of buyers who searched for a home online

48% - the percentage of buyers who found their agent through a friend, relative or neighbor...the next highest percentage were those who found their agent through a website - 10%

59% - the percentage of buyers who used the internet to search for properties, using an MLS site

2% - the percentage of buyers who used a social networking site for their real estate needs

85% - the percentage of buyers who found photos "very useful"

43% - the percentage of loans that were FHA financed...and the predominant type of loan

The real estate industry has experienced some interesting, frustrating and extreme ups and downs in the past few years. I think these stats are reflective of those changes. FHA was almost non-existent just a short 5 years ago...now it is the predominant type of loan. The percentage of buyers searching for their home online continues to increase. Despite the common thought, social networking rarely comes into play when buyers are searching for their home or agent.

The new report is 63 pages long, so these are just a few highlights. I will continue to write a few more posts