Tri-County, MA Real Estate Blog

With 2009 coming to an end and the dawn of 2010 on the horizon we stop and reflect on what was and take out our crystal balls in an attempt to predict what will be.

As members of the real estate community we're constantly asked for our opinion on the market and where it's going.  I was asked by my dental hygienist just last night as she was prodding my gums with her medieval torture device.

My response to her?  I don't know. 

You see it's not that I haven't read all of the economic forecasts, various blog posts from industry insiders, discussed the topic around the water cooler at the office; I have.  It's just that when you ask 10 different people their predictions you get 10 different anwers.

I mean just look at 9/11.  Here we were just plugging along.  Things were going great and bam!  Something happened we never predicted.  Sure some did, but we weren't aware of that.  It was a huge shock to our systems, our confidence, our security, and our market.

So I'm taking this to the extreme.  But think about it.  We can predict and forecast all we want.  We can look at trends and review history.  But we can only say what MIGHT happen.

When I do a CMA for a Bellingham, MA area seller I'm not telling them what their home WILL sell for.  I'm telling them what other homes comparable to theirs HAVE sold for and what theirs MIGHT sell for.

In the same breath I cannot tell a buyer what price the seller WILL accept.  I can only tell them what other homes comparable to this one HAVE sold for and what price the seller MIGHT accept.

It's not a prediction it's an educated guess!

The one thing that always remains a constant is that there will always be a market.  Good or Bad.  Bull or Bear.  Home prices will go up and down.  You'll have equity or you won't. And people will always need a place to live. 

So just sit back and enjoy what you have now.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thanks to Clint Miller for the inspiration on this!

Got your own predictions on the Massachusetts housing economy?  I'd love to hear them!