Are we Headed for Recession?

I know we are all tired of the doom and gloom news about the market, house values, foreclosures, etc.  Those of us in the real estate industry keep a close eye on the cyclical nature of the market, or at least we should.  As much as we would all like to turn away from the pending doom, it is more realistic and responsible to face the news and really dig into the economic factors. 

Foreclosures are at record highs and it is not getting any better any time soon.  The Fed can only do so much and people tend to over value the positive result that rates cuts will have on the home and condo markets.  Homes and condos will still sell throughout this year and current owners will still try to sell but not at the rate that they once could.  When we talk "recession" we need to look at all factors facing the housing industry; and consumer spending overall has an affect.  Also, all the talk about the baby boomer generation is just as relevant now as it was in the condo boom.  Many sellers who have homes they want to downsize from are in no rush to unload their homes at the current values and will want to ride this out before moving.  This will have an effect on the sale of new condos and homes. 

Over the next year, baby boomers across the country will be retiring.  And since about half of this generation's wealth is in their home values, they will want to be unloading this inventory onto the market to liquidate their assets.  This will affect the already saturated home and condo surplus.