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It’s always something!
Just when there are some small (real small) signs that the U.S. economy may be on the mend, a new, never before seen type of swine flu is making the rounds from California, to Texas, to New York, to the U.K., to Spain and, of course, Mexico.
So far, no deaths in the U.S. (unlike south of the border)–but a possible pandemic is the last thing the world needs right about now while it is trying to tilt its axis back toward solvency.
Dead people don’t buy homes! (Except maybe in Chicago where dead people have often voted for political candidates.) And, politicians distracted by the spread of illness may shift focus away too long from fixing the economy.
As some already fear, we may have a perfect storm situation developing here: a basket case economy and the potential for a world-class flu pandemic! What a combo.
And, California, among the hardest hit by the bursting of the housing bubble, is now among the hardest areas of the U.S. hit by this new swine flu virus. Only 11 cases and two probable ones as of this writing…but a number just about everyone says will certainly grow larger over the course of the next several days and weeks.
Related articles by Zemanta
- Swine Flu: 5 Things You Need to Know About the Outbreak (time.com)
- Room for Debate: Swine Flu: A Cause for Panic? (roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com)
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And not to add to the panic, in South Florida – another real estate bubble area- we have a deadly meningitis outbreak that is being watched by the CDC. I never thought I’d be commenting on the health and real estate connection!
Lisa Merritt
http://www.lisamerrittrealtor.com/
Lisa Merritt’s last blog post: RTRN – RO Home
I am thinking that this could be yet another reason for people to stay at home rather than travel so this is not going to help the real estate markets in vacation markets one iota.
Claton Sin’s last blog post: Anti Aging Product Nutrition
And to put it into perspective, the last time the swine flu pandemic hit the US, there were 40 deaths. So far there have been 1. On contrast, 13,000 Americans have died from the regular seasonal flu this year. I think an alien invasion is more probable than the swine flu even being in the media in a week. =)
These days there’s more articles about it in the news
than people who have actually contracted swine flu
more people gonna die driving in their cars
but that don’t make news like new flus or SARS
35,000 deaths occur every flu season
we weren’t concerned last year, what’s the reason?
i’m not saying that you shouldn’t be worried
but worry on the news gets bigger in a hurry
to hear me rap my full opinion, watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uSXwbOMV3E
Just the fear of a possible flu pandemic has wide effects that will ripple through the economy. Commercial real estate has some specific vulnerabilities. The fear of a pandemic and the reality of a stumbling economy, coupled with technology at our disposal to keep us functioning at home, could have dramatic effects.
Still, people always need us. Let not this be the hindrance for helping those people want to sell their homes
Do you really think we have more problems than people did during the depression, WWII o the cold war let alone when people were worried about getting enough food to stay alive a 100 or more years ago in the US. People always worry about the worst things that are going on, and if you collect your list of things to fret over from the news it means you have a good life.