Tresa Casaletto

It is March 27, 2009, the end of the first week of spring. Today is a wonderful warm day and the big question on many minds here in Massachusetts is "Is the cold weather over?" Many signs say yes; the first flowers of spring are in full bloom, the huge piles of snow have melted away and the days are getting longer. Of course, we just suffered through a few nasty cold and windy days that felt more like winter than spring but today reminds us soon we can put away our heavy overcoats and put on some sunscreen. One way or another, summer is coming.

Another question many real estate professionals are pondering is "Has the housing market come around?" Here too are many signs of encouragement. In our areas, inventories have dropped, buyers are again actively looking and more properties are going under agreement. The stock market has followed a pattern similar to the weather, higher some days, dropping back down others. However, overall the trend has been upward. Along with the improvement of the stock market, I can look at the increases in home sales, building permits, mortgage applications and the increase of orders of durable goods as indications that the economy is recovering. Increased activity within my office also offers the hopeful outlook that both buyers and sellers are regaining confidence in the market. While one week does not create a complete recovery, my bet is things will continue to improve.