A Vacation in Stabilization

Have you ever had that “I need a vacation” feeling? You know the one. It’s that feeling that you need to veg out on the beach with a book. No responsibilities. No phone calls. You just need time to recharge your batteries.

That feeling creeps up on me every once in a while. Usually it happens right after a lot of turmoil. Either things are going very well, and there is a lot of activity. Or else things have not gone so well, and there’s a lot of activity. The underlying factor driving this need for a rest always seems to be the chaos caused by change.

Right now I’m about ready for a vacation for the housing market.

The latest housing numbers came out last week, and guess what. The number of sales of previously owned homes dropped in September. After months of gains on the housing front, the market seems to have cooled…again.

Since the start of the new millennium the housing market has been full of ups and downs. These changes haven’t been small, either. Over the last 13 years we’ve seen massive increases in home values, huge bursting bubbles, market crashes and fluctuating interest rates. It has been an absolute roller coaster for Real Estate investors and home owners alike.

The good news is that it looks like there’s some vacation time on the horizon. When the bubble burst in 2007, all the talk surrounded the bottom of the market. Then the discussion was the recovery. Whether we’ve reached recover or not, it looks like we may be close to stabilization.

There really has been a lot of money made and lost in Real Estate over the past few years. Smart investors made money in the bad times. When times were good, they made even more. As the market stabilizes, there will be fewer opportunities. But in the short term, I’m okay with that.

I’m counting down the days until vacation. When the market stabilizes, I’ll be sitting on the beach with a good book and a drink. Just about the time my batteries are charged, it will be time to get back to work.