In my last post, I mentioned that the economic meltdown currently referred to as the Great Recession was ignited by sub-prime loans and run-a-way foreclosures, and that recovery from this economic tsunami may well take as much time to heal as did the Great Depression. Today, the Great Recession is experiencing a slow recovery, which is painfully felt by those holding real estate in the Southern Oregon real estate market.

I also mentioned in the previous blog that in 1932, money was “sucked out” out of the system by Herbert Hoover’s Recovery Act that raised taxes and left the masses even more penniless than before. In 2008, money was also “sucked out” of the system, but not by taxation. Instead, it was the price of gasoline which rose to over $4 per gallon in some geographic areas of the country that sucked billions of dollars out of the system and sent them to the oil producing countries of the world. Once gas prices began to decline in price due to decreased demand from people driving less, the economic system took a deep gasp… and crashed.

So here we are, nursing a recovery for the Southern Oregon real estate market and wary to announce that “Prosperity is just around the country.” But remember this — the Baby Boomers are still perched to retire to more comforting digs like Southern Oregon, ownership of real estate has always been the greatest protection from run-a-way inflation, and the buying incentives of tax credits for first-time home buyers and others are still engaged.

My prediction for 2010 — the Housing Sector will continue to recover and begin to make noticeable gains trackable through statistics. No, we’re not out of the woods yet, but there is light glimmering at the end of the tunnel. Stay tuned.

Michael Masters

A Socially Conscious Real Estate Consultant

“Money, money, money makes the world go ‘round.” So says the song writer. In fact, money does much more than just that. It can enrich your life by providing affordable comforts and financial security — and it can also make your world crash down around you when you lose it. The Southern Oregon real estate market, like elsewhere in the country, has had its real estate values traumatized since the bubble burst in 2006. Today, the supply of money is very much in the headlines and a look at money and the market is worthwhile.

Turn back the clock. Herbert Hoover was barley in office for 9 months before Black Tuesday arrived, October 29, 1929, and the stock market crash was heard around the world. President Hoover’s immediate solution to the economic distress was to cut taxes in an attempt to put more money into the system and to encourage spending. However, after two fruitless years of Continue reading Money, Money, Money, and the Southern Oregon Real Estate, Part I