It's official - We are now in a tough market in the Houston area.

We have been able to say that the downturn in the market did not affect our area for most of the year.  Foreclosures were almost exclusively in small pockets of our marketplace.  Homes that were priced well and staged well were selling in less than two weeks in the desireable communities.

Then IKE hit us!  You wouldn't think that a hurricane could adversely affect the market.  After all, we heard stories of housing shortages in New Orleans after Katrina.  The prices in nearby towns shot up quickly and demand was fierce.  Good, knowledgeable and prepared agents could not find enough houses to sell because the buyers were abundant.

As we took the trees off of our houses and endured days (if not weeks) without electricity, we held out on the assurance that our suspension of income was short-term.  We knew that when people started getting insurance settlements we would follow the lead of New Orleans.  Little did we know that while we were without electricity, the rest of the nation was hearing more about the downfall of our economic reality and really did not have time to feel sorry for our plight.

As the weeks have passed since our disaster, I have written several contracts for buyers.  One client, weekend before this last one, had me write an offer for $625,000 for a house he wanted to purchase.  Of course, he also wanted a listing agreement to sell his current home at $365,000.  He invited me to his house for dinner on the deck overlooking Lake Conroe and there was an element of celebration.  Monday morning he called to call it all off.

If this were an isolated incident, I would not be shocked.  But it is a repeated performance of what is happening in our area.  First, it was people who would tell you that they were perfectly confident of their own personal financial status...they were only worried about others.  Now, whether it is real or imagined, it seems that people are actually concerned about their own financial well being.

It is time to dig our trenches and begin a battle strategy...and remember the words of Richard Bach:

"There's no disaster that can't become a blessing, and no blessing that can't become a disaster."