Wow…what a week. I had two computers die this week. I was very frustrated with my ties to technology this week. So now I am typing this on a new gateway laptop bought from Best Buy for $450….we will see how long this one lasts.
While my new computer was dieing, I had two lots and two houses that needed to close out, and of course all the last minute flurry of emails and phone calls that happen during those times were compounded by no working computer. Thankfully, I can read my email on my iphone and respond that way.
Still, it was a busy week and a lot of good things happened. Wrote two offers, listed two houses, and had two closings.
Listened to Neil Fried yesterday talk about Alaska’s economy. Alaska is now in the same recession that the rest of the country is suffering. We are not in as bad a shape, but still, it’s a recession here too. Because Alaska is still relatively better off than many places in the country we are seeing a net in-migration. That is, more people are moving in than are moving out.
The Mat-Su valley is receiving more of that in-migration than the rest of the state. The problem is that many of these new people are starting over without a job, so that will be a challenge for them and for us.
Here is some reading I did this morning regarding the economy.
Killing the Goose by John Mauldin You will have to sign up for his newsletter to read the whole article, but it’s free and it’s not spam.
What Happens When Uncle Sam Stops Buying Mortgages Just a short note about the fact that almost all the current mortgages are purchased by the federal government. This is new in just the last couple years and is supposed to end in 2010. What happens then?
I read a few more items, but these two are the most interesting.
Bottom line, no one really knows what is going to happen, but we are in interesting times and the likelihood that everything keeps muddling along is low.
