When Clark travels around, listeners always ask him what’s going on in the real estate market. There is some level of anxiety and he wants to put your mind at ease. Yes, people will lose their homes. In fact, projections are that between 1 million and 2 million households will have to go through foreclosure. That’s a conservative estimate. But there are more than 100 million households in the U.S., so in the overall picture it’s not a huge number. So where are we headed with housing? Most areas will see sluggish real estate markets for the next five to seven years. In other words, values won’t really go anywhere. Housing values and land values shot up way beyond their value in recent years, so the market is now taking a breath. If you have no need to move, it’s of no consequence to you. In fact, if property taxes are adjusted you will benefit. But for brand new subdivisions, and in the condo market in Florida and Washington D.C., there will be steep declines. If you are looking to buy either as a tenant or real estate investor, you will find great deals. Just make sure that if you buy troubled real estate at auctions, you keep your wits about you. People get so caught up in winning that they overbid. A deal on a home is 20 percent below market value. A deal on a condo is 30 percent below market value.