Homeowners: Don't Forget the Good News when You Hear the Bad

According to RealtyTrac, more than 84,000 homes entered foreclosure just in the month of October. Meanwhile, home values have fallen for 25 consecutive months, and this year for the first time since 1945, the Federal Reserve has reported that home debt is higher than home equity. You literally can't get on the Internet these days without being bombarded with apocalyptic-sounding news. A less sensational perspective shows that for every stinging piece of economic news, something positive is also in the works.

New Banking and Foreclosure Policies
In the last two months, JP Morgan Chase, Citi Group, and Bank of America, among other banking institutions, have decided to cut interest rates and alter loan terms in a concerted effort to keep millions of homeowners in their homes and reduce losses associated with the expensive foreclosure process. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, meanwhile, have placed a moratorium on home foreclosures from Nov. 26 to Jan 9. As public debate rages on about bailout packages and economic Armageddon, these new policies represent a responsible action by lending institutions that will have measurable positive effects on the housing market.

Predictions and Demographics
Everybody who follows the news has heard predictions that the housing market and the economy in general could turn around as soon as the middle of next year. It's hard to find any layperson who still believes in these "expert" predictions. Vaguely defined economic factors are one thing, while demographics are less subjective. Echo Boomers, offspring of the Baby Boomers, are coming of age. The Joint Center for Housing Studies projects "the addition of over 12 million homeowners by 2015." Does this mean that the housing market is certain to recover by next year? No, of course not, but there is light for the second half of your mortgage term.

Falling Energy Prices
While anybody can see the relief at the gas pump, the recent and precipitous drop in the price of crude oil has finally begun trickling down to the retail price of home heating oil. In just one month, the U.S. Department of Energy changed its forecast for heating oil prices this winter from an 18 percent increase to a 17 percent decrease from the previous year. Indeed, the recession is creating a falling energy demand nearly across the board, meaning that some form of relief is out there, no matter how you power your car or your home. This undoubtedly seems bittersweet for homeowners who remember energy prices from two, five, and 10 years ago, but any relief is something to be thankful for.

Better Home Improvements: Cost and Quality
For several years now, the home improvement industry has been saturated with demand from too many requests seeking too few contractors. This has led to inflated prices in home improvement costs and the proliferation of home improvement scams. While more and more people see the employment opportunities in energy-efficiency home improvements, home builders have had to scale back their operations sending waves of subcontractors into the general pool of home improvement contractors. As it is with energy and fossil fuels, lower demand for major home improvements has also led to a decrease in the cost of many building materials, especially lumber. Arguably, there has never been a better time to complete a home improvement project.

A Green Economy
Usually when the price at the pump falls, the country forgets the undeniable fact that the current economy isn't a sustainable one. This season, that thinking no longer seems to apply. The country has largely accepted the future economy has to be a green economy. Recently, the U.N. released a study that suggests the green economy will double by 2020. What does this mean? For a generation, the promise of sustainable living has been preached, marketed, overestimated, underestimated, lobbied for, lobbied against, legislated, and repealed. This economic recession finds us poised to finally deliver on this promise, as today's necessity is pregnant with tomorrow's inventions.

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