Real Estate with Jim Quist

The manner in which Washington, i.e., the federal government determines if we are in the midst of a recession is severely hampered by the method in which information is gathered.

By the time the requisite marks are met on a national basis the majority of the country is already in the depths of economic peril.

One look around at the number of foreclosures across the country is a sure sign of economic woes.

As an appraiser I typically see that a downturn in the economy is indicated by a surge in foreclosures 18 months (on average) prior to Washington even having a sniff of what's to come. We tend to forget or perhaps not see the big picture of how important this early warning sign is to those who have the ability to make a difference.

Almost every early foreclosure involves a lower income family. That loss effects more than the pockets of that family it also reaches out and touches the rest of us financially. That domino effect begins moving slowly at first and then ends up at a clip that is detrimental to everyone's pocketbook.

What can be done to change the system in order to make things better? We can start with using data that is contemporary rather than up to a year old. This can be done with a simplistic sampling system. The other problem is endemic and is hard to challenge. Government is top-heavy in their thought process. If you really want to know what is happening then talk to those of us in the "trenches".

In addition to being a radio talk-show guest speaking on real estate I am also one of four political analysts on a weekly talk-show. We've been discussing the recession for quite a while and how it will ultimately affect the upcoming elections. The war and economy are closely tied so look for these two issues, which have an enormous effect upon us financially to influence who voters choose.

No doubt about it we are looking at some significant changes in how we live because of the direction of our economy. Some of these are temporary but many will be permanent.  It will take a major shake-up in our political approach to address these issues.  You have the ability to make some of those changes occur much quicker by contacting your representative. It will only take about five minutes to write a quick email. If you don't receive a response then perhaps it is time for someone else to fill those shoes.