How Many Affected by The Market?

How Many Affected by The Market? Whether or not each of us has been affected by the housing slump, it is affecting our financial markets and causing gloom among consumers, who feel less wealthy. The first quarter of this year saw a lot of ‘shoes dropping’ (Bear Stearns’ closure being just the biggest) balanced by a great deal of government activity to keep the dropped shoes from falling too hard on the economy. There is evidence that the Federal Reserves liquidity injections and rate cuts have helped, though the repercussions of all this activity will take years to measure. There is also some evidence that buyers are starting to respond to the significant drop in housing prices brought on by the need for homeowners, homebuilders and banks to clear out the inventory of homes they own. The housing market crisis doesn’t affect all of us directly, however, so in this issue we also take a look at other issues that may be of interest to homeowners: Green living, find a mover, and why none of us would ever be able to replicate the speed and success of “reality home renovations” seen on TV.