Philly Finally Feelin the Heat of the Housing Slump...

Well, it's official. After months of guarded reassurances that this region has been somewhat immune to the effects of the tumbling housing market, this article in the South Jersey CourierPost confirms our darker suspicions. It seems that, though it may be less traumatic than places like Florida, the market in the Mid-Atlantic is indeed faltering. Southern New Jersey seems to be the hardest hit, with sales falling 13 percent in the first half of this year.

This skeptic was always unswayed by the numerous predictions made by industry luminaries which spoke of a "rebound" late this year. Usually the luminaries cited are executives within businesses who have a direct interest in the rebound itself, namely, lenders or home builders. Now many industry leaders aren't predicting an uptick until 2009. Unfortunately, for those of us in the field, historic real estate cycles feature mult-year downturns, as well as robust, multi-year gains. Sounds like the 2009 prediction, itself, might be a little optimistic. But, I'm keeping my fingers crossed...