The Great Recession is over! Well, at least that is what we keep hearing. In truth, the technical indicators show the recession is at an end, but the anemic recovery is going to make it hard to see any positive bright lights. One need look no further than the current real estate market.

The real estate bubble is considered by most the trigger that started the domino effect that got us into this mess. There were certainly many other issues, but housing was the focal point. The official end of the recession would seem to suggest the real estate market has bottomed out and is now in recovery. Is this really the case? The answer seems to be no.

The news from the real estate market shows there is no big recovery. Just consider the news this week from Las Vegas. MGM Casinos was developing a $8.5 billion high end condo development prior to the downturn. The company has just announced that the prices of those condos are being slashed by a whopping 30 percent because of a lack of demand. In fact, the word out of Vegas is no new casino projects will break ground for at least the next 10 years. You know it is bad when they stop building casinos in Las Vegas!

What about the rest of the nation? Well, the latest figures show that apartment vacancies are at record highs. The current figure is up to a massive 7.8 percent vacancy rate. This would seem to suggest that renters are buying homes, right? Unfortunately, no. The truth is this figure represents unemployment problems and family members moving in with each other to make their dollar go farther.

Make no mistake, there are parts of the country in which the real estate market has solidified. That being said, it is an entirely different thing to say the market has recovered and all is good. It simply is not and will not be for some time.

This one is growing at a phenomenal rate. Be very careful when using your home or your home equity as security for a home improvement loan.

Fast talking salespeople offer to refinance your home at a lower interest rate to provide cash to the homeowner, explaining the cash can be used to pay for home improvements or to pay off bills.

Later, the homeowner discovers that they signed a contract that contains terms in contrast to the originally promised terms. This results in the loss of equity in the victim’s home, and also they have signed a mortgage in which they have incurred considerably higher interest rates. The homeowner is now faced with a higher mortgage payment, one that they may not be able to afford.

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