By Warren McNeil

I don’t know about you but I a getting really frustrated with what is going on with the news these days. The headlines are enough to make you go mad. This news is so depressing especially when it is always negative! I tried imaging last night how interesting the news would be if it was all filled with joy and happiness. I bet people would just change the channel. Negative news draws interest from the masses.

Let’s take a look at the current issues:

1. There has been a recession in the US for a year now. This was on the news last night!

2. There is a major mortgage crisis in the US. It is now effecting commercial real estate as well.

3. Waterloo region and area real estate unit sales are down about 21.5% in Oct 07 and Oct 08.

4. The Canadian government might get overthrown by a coalition government

5. Mass layoffs at CTV and today Rogers announced they were laying off. Just shortly after Ted Rogers passed away. Pretty sad really…

6. Of course the big issues with the car sector. I really hope this gets resolved.  

How about some good news:

1. Black Friday sales were up 7.2%. Horray! people still have money to spend
http://blogs.reuters.com/shop-talk/2008/12/02/sorting-through-black-friday-data/

2. Average house prices in Waterloo region and surrounding communities price for Oct 08 is up 3.75% compared to Oct 07.  Single-detached is up 9.8% compared to Oct 07 and Condos,Semis,Townhouses,Mobiles unit sales are only down 0.7%.  Horray! People are still retaining the value in their houses

3. Britney Spears is going on tour in March 09. Horray! I am glad Britney is back on track! (Sarcasm )

So there is still some good news to be had.

Ok, maybe I don’t have many good news stories because you really have to dig for them or discover them yourself. They are not publicized!

What’s a person to do? I say that we all need to stay focused and positive. In my industry, people still need a place to live. It’s a great time to buy despite the negative news stories. To quote Mark Twain, “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore”. If you have the money and you are renting, stop paying rent, buy a house and build up some equity. Donald Trump is a millionaire real estate investor because he believes in the product. I like to think that if the real estate moguls have faith in our product, then so should we.

In summary, I think we should look at the next year as a challenge that we all need to overcome. However, we can’t just sit on our hands and wait for something big to happen like winning the lottery. We need to be realistic with what is happening around us and adapt to the changes. I think we should set our goals a little bit smaller for the next little while until we see what is going to happen with the economy. The most important thing that we can’t do is give up thinking positively. Negative thinking will only drain the remaining positive energy. If you are starting the think negatively, do something that will change those feelings. Pickup a good book, start exercising, eat an ice cream cone or go and watch some funny you tube videos.

My final words are, “It always gets better!”

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil | Re/Max Twin City Realty, Brokerage
( 519.579.4110 | * Click Here to Email | 8 www.clickthathouse.com, www.teammcneil.com/blog

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