There are many reasons to be optimistic.

Look around. The central Ohio real estate market is active. Builders are opening new models, homeowners are getting their homes ready for the market, "For Sale" signs are popping up in every neighborhood. Ask a builder or REALTOR^® you know and they will tell you that rates are staying down - and 2008 is looking up.

The job market in central Ohio, which plays an important role in creating a flow of homebuyers, is extremely bright. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows employment in central Ohio for 2007 grew by 11,700 jobs (1.3 percent) to 943,600 jobs – the region’s highest job growth since 2000.

Columbus will boast the nation's 8th fastest home sales rate in 2008, predicts Forbes.com and Moodys.com. A recent study by these credible sources also sees that home prices here will increase 3.49% in 2008.

Columbus was ranked the nation's 6th most stable market by Standard & Poor's. According to this report, our market has less than a 10% chance of experiencing falling home prices.

Sales in central Ohio will rise in 2008, according to the Chief Economist of the National Association of REALTORS^®, Lawrence Yun. This is not expected to happen in every market.

Unlike the erratic home prices in California that have more than tripled since 1995, prices in central Ohio have been solid and stable. Therefore, we did not experience the same dramatic decline as cities like San Diego when people began to see that prices were out of line with the economy.

Because our housing market is "sure and steady," we may be the first region of the United States to see a significant boost in appreciation, according to the Chief Economist of the National Association of REALTORS^®.

The high interest rates that have characterized past recessions are nowhere in sight. Therefore, The National Association of REALTORS^® predicts that economic expansion will slow in 2008, yet we should avoid a recession.

We hear encouraging news every day about central Ohio's economy. In early March Forbes.com, named Columbus the "#1 Up-and-Coming Tech City."