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If you just listened to the news you’d think the world was going to end, that we are headed for life in a Cormac McCarthy novel like The Road, the world singed and scarred. Although not quite as bad, we still have abandoned homes with pools brewing disease, countries going bankrupt (Iceland), 9 banks chosen as saviors, stocks crumbling, and a Chihuahua movie pulling in $29.7 million in its opening weekend.
There are still people in Starbucks and Apple stores, just not as many. The downturn has been even keeled, so far the knell yet to fall on the everyday consumer.
However, I do see a longer line of people with their plastic bottles and cans at the recycling center at Safeway, trying to collect what they can from their recycling. The only saving grace thus far has been gas prices crashing. There’s more pain and worry coming, though, such as an increased number of layoffs and an expected increase in unemployment rates. Too many companies have gone out of business, too much money has been lost, and it’s increasingly difficult to get access to money. These factors and more make it more and more likely for the real estate cycle to take a while to turn around.
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