By Joe Palumbo III
Home prices still stink with the Queens market slowing down over the summer. Only 2,464 properties changed hands in the July-September quarter, a 20 percent decrease from 3,098 the quarter before and a 12 percent decrease from the 2,790 in the third quarter of 2006. The current average median home price is about $485,000, down from $499,000. Corporate profits are not what they were, which means Queens companies are tightening their belts; this translates into less money overall for the Queens community. Let's not forget or downplay the subprime disaster that our economy is still recovering from and will be for a number of years to come. The cost of living in Queens has not gone down by a long shot and seem to be rising. Are we going to see a recession? If nothing else, we as consumers are absolutely resilient at spending despite terrorist's attacks, weather disasters, wars and higher energy prices. The unemployment rate is also at a historical all-time low. With the exception of cutting back here and there, in my opinion there won't be a recession in 2008. Queens's residents will continue to spend money and thus keep the economy going. So How's Business in regards to what's ahead in 2008? The mortgage industry is definitely going to have to straighten itself out and it is going to take time before homes in just about every region of Queens begin to command better sales prices.
