Righting the ship

In sailing, if overexhuberance takes hold of you one particularly fine, windswept day, and you haul in the sheets just so, the vessel that had been skimming you through the ocean at seemingly effortless speed will suddenly turn on you like a bad piece of fruit on a warm day. You have to pay attention, says every good sailor, to the vessel and conditions under which you are sailing. So it is with the real estate market. Oh, for some years we were swept away with exhuberance over rising prices, endless streams of buyers, and sunny horizons each and every day. Last year the sea began to push back a little, the swells increased, winds flailed the mainsail, and we seemed to be coming to the end of a great day of sailing.

Well, it's been about a year now, and I think it's about time to head up on deck, ease the sheets somewhat, and realize that the ship has righted itself once again. Funny thing about sailing. If you oversteer, overtrim, overdo almost any aspect of sailing, you'll slow the boat, piss off the crew, and ultimately ruin what otherwise would have been sheer pleasure. So now that the buyers have taken over the helm, trimmed in the seller's sheets so far that the vessel stalled out, and practically begged the ocean of naysayers to swamp the boat, we find that cooler deck hands have taken back the ship like Captain Morgan and his men.

Yup, the ship otherwise know as the real estate market, is righting itself once again. A sail boat will right itself time and time again, if only the crew will loose the sheets, take their hands off the wheel, and let the ballast, sails and design take over. Now, coming into the late winter, early fall of 2006, buyers have begun to let go of their overexhuberant demands, ease back into realistic offers, and the sea of sellers seem to be willing to calm their expectations enough to make the voyage once again safe and profitable for all.

So, take care all of you who want to steer the real estate market into ruin. It's a sailboat, stupid, not a power boat! Eventually, the wind, waves and design of great sailing ships always right themselves and bring home their crews safely.

Make ready the mooring lines. The market is back in port, crew and owners happy, ready to do business.