This past week, Larry Kudlow, of Kudlow and Kramer fame, posted this article below. For months now, I have been saying to everyone that the "perfect storm" for buying will not last long. This window of opportunity, where low interest rates and wonderful inventory both meet, is and has been a rare occurrence in my 25+ years in this business.

Look - there are really three choices here for home buyers:

1. The end is near approach - In this strategy, we decide this really is the next great depression. The logic here would be to take the cash we have and put it into a tin can, learn to farm, and move to some fertile land in the Midwest where it is cheap.......oh - and build the bomb shelter. My view, is as said in Monty Python, "I'm not quite dead yet". Those that feel this is the path where we are headed should not be on this board. They should perhaps get out of the business and start packing.

2. The wait and see approach - In this strategy, the individual sits on the sidelines and waits for the media to say it's okay to come out and buy. In other words, we watch Suzi Orman nightly until she says, "I now deem this to be the time to buy". This logic is precisely what has created the self fulfilling prophecy that we find to be our current reality. If you believe the market is bad - guess what? It will be. It's emotional buying - the lemming approach.

3. The buy low approach - In this strategy - perhaps we look at the following -

• We will have progressively more graduating students entering the work force - the next four years will have the largest graduating classes in world history - all entering the work force and needing a place to live.
• The unemployment rate in most metropolitan markets is still near 5% and the major markets are planning for the demographic growth patterns that come from their surveys of the industry executives who will be adding staff and needing housing and services to support this growth.
• Interest rates are near record lows - although they are rising now. The opportunity to buy the home of one's dreams now - with this wonderful inventory - and get a great interest rate - this combination of factors, will not last forever.

Look - housing and home ownership are two different things. Home ownership creates pride. It is the long term view. Home ownership makes communities strong and families thrive as they invest with pride in their home. Housing can simply be an apartment or home with alot of things you cannot change or fix becuase you are a renter. When we promote home ownership at a time like this - near the bottom - when rates and inventory are aligned -we are doing a good thing for our clients and our communities. Encouraging the "wait and see" IS the self fulfilling prophecy and will guarantee that too many miss this perfect storm FOR buying.

Read below:

Thursday, 24 Jul 2008 The Media Are Missing the Housing Bottom Posted By:Larry Kudlow Topics:Media | Housing | Congress | Your Money Your Vote | Politics & Government | Stock Market

Media reports painted a pessimistic picture of today's release on existing home sales, which fell 15 percent from a year ago and recorded higher inventories. But inside the report was an awful lot of very good new news, which appear to be pointing to a bottom in the housing problem; in fact, maybe the tiniest beginnings of a recovery.

For example, the median existing home price has increased four consecutive months and is up 10 percent since February. Yes, it's down 6 percent over the past year. But the monthly numbers show a gradual rebound. Actually, this median home price is $215,000 in June, compared to $196,000 last winter.

And there's more. One of the hardest hit regions is the West, including California, Arizona, and Nevada. The other two bad states are Florida and Michigan. However, existing home sales in the western region are up four straight months, and are 17 percent above the low in October. At the same time, prices in the West have increased three straight months.

Meanwhile, overall national existing home sales are basically stabilizing at just under five million. And in the first and second quarters of 2008, these sales dropped slightly by 3 percent in each case, which is a whole lot better than the roughly 30 percent sales drops of the prior three quarters.

It's a pity the mainstream media keeps searching for more and more pessimism. The reality is a possible upturn in the housing trend, and at the very least we are getting a bottom. Stocks sold off 165 points largely on media reports of terrible home sales and prices. But I am hoping the market comes to its senses and realizes the data are a whole lot better.