An interesting article in the Contra Costa Times says it very well, not going to be an exciting year out there in Real Estate.

Most residential real estate professionals are calling 2007 a transitional year, for better or worse. Although there’s some disagreement about what the new year will hold, the only consensus is that it will not be a year of booming appreciation or sales like those seen in the past five years.
The majority also said that home prices will drop slightly in 2007, but sales may stabilize to historically normal levels. Most said that sellers have to be more realistic and buyers should be warned that there is no huge decline in prices projected, even by the most objective economists.
Here are some of the 2007 outlooks given by several professionals in the residential real estate industry. via ContraCostaTimes.com

While there is not much sizzle in this lede, the reality is dead on. I think that on the extremes of the real estate blogging world we have 2 groups.

On one side are real estate agents whose livelihood is threatened to a greater or lesser degree and they are fighting for what their perceived truth is. And to be honest, since a real estate agent typically works a finite territory their sphere of influence is rarely seeing the worst of what is being reported and feel that their business is being hurt by the reports from the media.

The other side has the new guys (and gals) on the block. They are the bubble bloggers who have risen from obscurity to being toasted by the national media. They have an agenda to keep the story alive and are working diligently to find every opportunity for news that will keep the Housing Bubble in the news.

However, from what I am seeing, the housing bubble has petered out in most parts of the country. The fence sitters are starting to come back into the market. The horrific bubble news has not materialized in most of the country. However, sales are not high enough to sustain all of the new agents that have entered the market. And agents are still facing internal pressures in keeping their sales and lifestyle where it was in 2005.

We here at the Real Estate Bloggers will keep finding the news. The world of real estate is a vibrant place. Hopefully for all concerned it will not be as perilously high as it was in 2005, or as gloomy and poised on the brink of destruction in 2006. May 2007 be a solid year for all concerned and we will find our equilibrium.

Related posts:

1. Boston Real Estate Sales Coming Back – Are Yours?
2. Real Estate Investors Driving Market?