An eye on Washington

I know many of you think I spend too much time talking about politics and not enough time throwing out statistics about home sale values, mortgage rates, or appraisals. But frankly the Northwest Indiana real estate market is quite a few months into a recovery that may well last for the next decade or more. The last sustained real estate recession in 1979 kicked off a recovery and expansion that lasted until 2007.

My biggest concern right now, as it relates to real estate values and mortgage rates, is the high level of borrowing by the Federal government for last year's stimulus and this new health care takeover. There was some phony talk of the health care takeover "saving" us money, of course this is like my wife saying she "saved" me $100 by buying something we didn't need for $100 dollars that used to be priced at $200. The key is we didn't need it, we didn't save anything, we spent $100.

If we continue like drunken sailors borrowing, then rates will continue to rise. As they rise it will reduce the number of families that can afford to buy your home, your condominium, your property. This is not good for your value or for continuing to reduce inventories. This is why I pay attention to politics, too much for some of you still I'm sure.