The problem with these figures is that they look at the country as a whole, and not at region by region. Real estate is LOCAL, not National. In a country of 295 million people (www.cia.gov), 117,000 is not a lot.

A story may illustrate my point: Around 2002 I was living in the mountain town of Show Low Arizona. One day my husband and I drove past an unusual site for the town – a beat-up pickup with a tiny campervan on its back, parked beside the road, with a man and woman and four lovely little children. The man had a sign saying something like ‘out of work'. This looked like it was the real thing. They were only there for that one day. We stopped to talk to the man. He said that he was out of a job and was hoping to get enough money for gas to go back to his home town of Chicago and find work there. My husband told him to think again, maybe there wasn't work in Chicago for him. But at that moment he was only a six hour drive from a town that had LOTS of jobs – Las Vegas. Gambling and tourists bring in cash. That brings in jobs. Maybe he should give Las Vegas a try before heading to Chicago.

You see, it doesn't matter what the average for the whole USA is. It matters what is happening in YOUR area. If you saw the dreadful pictures of economic hardship in Flint Michigan in Michael More's DVD “Fahrenheit 911” you may have felt sorry for those people who were suffering from a possible 50% unemployment rate. But I just wanted to say to those people, ‘MOVE'. Walk if you have to. Get to one of the many towns where there is still plenty of work to do and money to be made.

Right now I live in Palm Coast, Florida. I can tell you there is little talk of recession here. Sure, the local real estate market is slowing down now, but that's understandable since lots that sold for around $18,000 two years ago are now going for over $100,000. So the conclusion is that not all areas are in a downturn. Another conclusion is don't buy at the top of the market (this market is now overpriced).

The key to understanding what is happening in America, as many people more knowledgeable than I have written before, is to understand that a large percentage of the population are baby boomers, and they are starting to retire. They are moving from cold areas (like Michigan) and they are moving from expensive areas (like New York) to inexpensive, warmer areas like Florida, Arizona and Nevada. Wherever, they go, there will be jobs. The jobs may no longer be manufacturing jobs – after all, the Chinese and Indians are doing that much cheaper than we can anyway. But there will be jobs, jobs in health care, on golf courses and cruise ships, in building and in water desalination plants (Florida needs to find new sources of water for all its new people).

I foresee a future move down the track which not so many people have talked about. This will be when more people learn that Florida is not all its cracked up to be. When some people get sick of the super high heat and humidity, more will move to more temperate climates like Georgia and maybe Tennessee.

A good way to find out where the upcoming places are is to buy retirement magazines. They have indexes that compare the attractiveness of various towns to each other, looking at many factors such as cost of living, services, etc.

So if you live in a place like Flint Michigan and things are not going well for you, please don't just sit there. Yes, you may have to sell your house for less than you paid for it. But if you take the loss and sell now and get out while you can, you can move to an area where you will have a future.

Don't be afraid to build your own home. You can save 50%. Your $150,000 home can be built by YOU as an “owner-builder” for $75,000 without touching a hammer!. There is even a company called BuildMax.com that will help you do it. Consider inexpensive land in Arizona, Nevada or Texas.. And there are still cheap areas in Florida. Build with concrete, not wood. If it's good enough for 5 star hotels its good enough for you!

As the baby boomers continue to retire they have more leisure time. And that means money for YOU! So start your Virtual Corporation. An internet “Niche Marketing” business. You have knowledge and experience in your hobby or specialty that others want to learn about. And visit DTVUS.com and see what the future hold.

© Stephanie Relfe 2006