Always a silver lining...But for who?

There is a dirty little secret, when it comes to real estate and your local newspaper, wherever local is for you. That secret is simple - real estate advertising dollars helps pay the bills. Because of this simple truth, and the way your local real estate office tends to remind the papers of this whenever they read something they don't like - it should be no surprise that the writer of this article did her absolute very best to spin bad news as positively as possible - like so:

"Maybe the poorhouse isn't beckoning after all.

In sharp contrast to nationwide declines, Staten Island single-family home sales ticked upward and purchase prices remained steady in March, compared to the previous month."

Now, you don't need a masters in finance, or a Realtor's license to know the answer to this one - prices are always up from february to march - february is COLD march - not so much. This helps lure those who NEED to purchase from their winter slumber, in search of new digs. But its ok, it gave her a positive stepping off point. Then came some actual eye-opening news:

"On the Island, the total number of homes sold in the borough in March was 200, down from 316 in March of last year but up from 160 last month. That figure includes one- and two- family homes, attached houses, condominiums and co-ops.

The average price for that broad category of homes was $432,896 in March, compared to $446,000 in February and $455,452 in March of last year."

Add that to some information tucked away in a quote by a local politician, information that for some reason doesn't get its own headline:

"He[Rep. Vito Fossella] pointed to a 40 percent drop in home sales over the past seven months and a 400 percent spike here in foreclosures during the first quarter." (Published 04/2008)

A new day is dawning. One where the important people in our lives understand that putting ourselves into debt isn't always the right thing to do. One where we aren't subjected to the indignity of living in a shoebox with neighbors banging on the walls. One where we're not subjected to the indignity of ads for the ever so popular 350,000 "starter homes' - "perfect for the handyman or investor, as is - will not last!"