Retail Sales Are Down

The consumer has obligations to pay first such as mortgages or rent and utility bills and food and household goods. Then there are the desirables such as purchasing new clothes or eating out. Consumers are carefully watching what they spend their hard earned money on and they are definitely cutting back on going out for entertainment and instead are watching movies at home. The good thing is we are starting to save and have family gatherings more often. The bad news is we could see more layoffs or unemployment issues. Sales at stores like Wal-Mart are up because people need certain necessities. It's the disposable income purchases that are down. Fortunately there are many of us that still have a job and interest rates are reasonably low and home prices have come down to a normal level. I still think prices are stabilizing here in New Jersey and it's a great time to go out and shop for a home. I just had an appraiser inspect a home for a client of mine and the house is under contract for more than the house was listed. Why you ask would someone pay more for a house than it was offered at? Because the house was in excellent condition and slightly under priced and after looking at so many homes in the same price range and finding them in terrible condition the purchaser knew it was an excellent find. The house had more then three offers and it went to the best offer. If you have any questions please email or call me.201-704-6792 charlesm@remax.net