I was sitting at my Big Mac blogging away when I heard the little musical  "ding" alerting me to a new email - probably a comment from a blog buddy on my latest post.  But no, it was from NAR President Charles McMillan, and it was all about the NAR float that will glide along the Tournament of Roses Parade! 

Now, it does look like a pretty cool float - you can check it out in a series of "webisodes".  Then, after the parade, you can vote for the NAR float (and this link has a great drawing of the thing).

Here in Washington, DC, the home of the NAR, we are not seeing huge numbers of foreclosures.  And area Realtors® are not leaving the business in droves.  Most of our sellers do have equity in their homes, and the wolf is not at the door.  Is it just possible that our trade association isn't aware of what it's like outside of Washington?

Perhaps if I didn't read lots of blog posts from real estate professionals all across the country, I might think that the rosy image of home ownership portrayed by this float is totally appropriate to ringing in the New Year.  But looking at it, I'm feeling a queazy feeling in my abdominal regions that this may not have been one of NAR's better decisions.

I'm assuming that this email went out to all NAR members, and I can only imagine what some of you may be thinking as they read it.  And I can only imagine what many about-to-be foreclosed upon homeowners across the country will be thinking as they watch the parade.

And by the way, any time is a great time to buy a home!