Six months ago, if you were betting money on who knew where interest rates were headed, would you have bet on Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, or on Dean Vlamis, your “Lender for Life”? To the 1% who bet on me, thank you and enjoy your winnings!

Rates have once again come down, in spite of Chairman Greenspan’s repeated attempts to do the contrary. The Federal Reserve’s actions should be lauded, because after all, they are trying to keep inflation in check. Anyone old enough to remember the Carter Administration can appreciate the perils of inflation.

What does this mean for the Real Estate market? Plenty. The economy is still growing, with GDP coming in at 3.4% in the last quarter and job growth remains steady. Low rates combined with a strong economy can keep the purchase market going strong.

The market news came to head this past Friday as the government released the monthly unemployment figures. Job creation was up 78,000, but far less than the 200,000 the experts predicted. This led to a roller coaster day in both the bond market and mortgage backed securities. However, to claim that the soft employment numbers make for a slowing economy is not looking at the big picture. One must also consider the strong GDP numbers, home sales and construction to know that perhaps Wall Street over estimated itself. In a nut shell, things look good!

My next prediction…The White Sox will win their division, and the penant!