Pat Palmer-REALTOR, Upland, CA 91786

I found the following article about strategic defaults in today's Los Angeles Times. It sheds some realistic light on this sector of our crisis. What I find most interesting is that there are actually less strategic defaults than most people have previously thought. In that Southern California has one of the largest losses of equity in the country, it will be interesting to see how this segment recovers.

Click here to read the full Los Angeles Times article.

Nostalgia is a good thing. One of the things about nostalgia is that it tends to come back around. See if you remember these gems:

1. Homes had owners in them
2. Cash offers were accepted...quickly
3. Listing agents lived in the same city as their listing
4. Asset managers were guys that handled money, not homes
5. When someone said REO, you first thought of a great rock band of the '80's
6. Short sale negotiators didn't exist
7. Fannie & Freddie were funny names of companies most people never heard of
8. Purchase contracts got a Counter Offer, not a bank addendum
9. Voice mails were returned
10. You bought cars and cattle at an auction

Ahhhhh the good old days. I think we've all kind of forgotten that these all applied less than four years ago.As long as we learn the lessons of excess, they will come around again.  This crazy market will settle (not as in "for less than full balance"..but as in "down") and normalcy will return. Feel free to add any others you may fondly remember.

In the mean time, I'm going to listen to Ridin' The Storm Out, comb the hair I no longer have with my Goodie brush, watch football without the annoying fantasy stats that constantly scroll along the bottom of my T.V., and know that the asset managers from Chase & B of A will once again need to update their resumes.

As our market continues to calm, Southern California is seeing the beginning of home appreciation again. Are things all better now? Of course not. And there are those who will say it's only a temporary spike. Or others that will some how blame The First Time Buyer Tax Credit Extension for skewing the numbers. Personally, I am glad to find and share good news. We have forgotten that a large part of any market's decline or rise is based on emotion and confidence. Headlines have a way of building on themselves either way. So please take a moment and click the link below:

Southern California home prices edge upward again in October -- latimes.com

For those of you old enough to remember Whitney Houston singing The Star Spangled Banner during The Super Bowl, it's one of the versions you never forget. For those of you that might never have seen it, take a moment and watch this clip:

As a hobby, I referee high school basketball. More than all the other privileges it allows me, the single greatest is that at least 35-40 times a season, I get to stand with a gym full of people, proudly face our flag and listen to a rendition of The National Anthem. To this very day and after all these years, I STILL get goose bumps every time. It doesn't matter if the singer is a 6 year old singing totally off key, or the recorded version of the video above. If this video doesn't evoke some kind of reaction from you, especially on Veteran's Day,don't check your pulse. It's a bit too late.