Thank you, thank you! My business had a nice spike in activity this spring and I hope to keep the momentum going. Those of you who bought or sold with me, thank you for the nice comments and congratulations! I get the question, “how’s the market?” on a daily basis. I believe that at a minimum it’s started to level out. If you read the headlines, real estate news is not in the forefront as much anymore, it seems, so that is an indication to me that the carnage is diminishing (as in, bad news sells newspapers). Sellers who are serious to sell and have equity have adjusted their prices, or soon will, once they come to realize the may have to own a home or condo they don’t want for another year.  "This is going to be another difficult spring," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "I think we are at the beginning of the end of the housing downturn, but it is going to be a long and painful end." Fair enough. If you’re a buyer or investor, when is it a good time to pull the trigger? At the end of the downturn or at the beginning of the recovery? Keep in mind also that this newsletter is about Northern Michigan real estate, a desirable vacation and second home “address” that has an increased demand built in because we draw buyers from all over the country. I was involved in deals this month that saw buyers from Cincinnati, OH (Hi Ann Marie and Dan) and Virginia. We are also at the cusp of the retiring baby boom generation who are looking forward to spending summers here, as I stated in my last newsletter in April.  Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors, sees some hopeful signs.  "Lower prices and low interest rates are starting to generate results," Yun said, noting that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.92 percent in April, down from 6.18 percent in April 2007. Sales should also be helped in coming months, Yun predicted, by the reappearance of more mortgage products as lenders reopen the tap for certain loans. That supply had been closed following the credit crisis that hit last August, triggered by rising defaults in sub prime mortgages. What I think you should take from this article is that if you’ve been on the fence about buying a retirement, second home, primary home, condo, vacant land, etc. in the Northwest Michigan area, you’d better start thinking about hopping off. As I’ve said before, you don’t want to say, “I should have bought in 2008.” And don’t forget, I’m never too busy for you or your referrals if you have any questions or need a hand getting off that fence!

Brett Binkley