Things That Are Looking Up for 2010

This is the time of year when everyone is interested in what is going to happen in the new year.  So far, it looks like things are looking up for the 2010 real estate market and many people are upbeat about it.  However, some things are going up that may not have some people so upbeat after all.

Things to look for include:

* Rise in interest rates - The more competition there is for money from federal, state and municipal agencies, of course, the more it will cost to borrow it.  In turn, there will be less new jobs created.  It's kind of crazy that over 30 states are now borrowing money to pay unemployment benefits.

* Food prices will continue to rise - As interest rates rise, the money needed to fund long production cycles will cost more.  Therefore, this cost will come from the consumer.  If energy prices rise, transportation, production and distribution will also increase.

* Energy prices will rise - Energy includes more than gasoline.  However, our past experience at the pump has made it obvious that no matter how the daily prices rise and fall, they continue to go up, up, up.  The price never quite returns to its low point.

There's so many more things that will be going up that I could add to this list such as taxes, litigation, compensation for CEO's and more.  Some other downfalls could include a rise in commercial defaults and bankruptcies.  Most of all these events will definitely supercharge social media until many people begin to hit the "unfriend" button. 

Along with all these ups that are not so positive, there will be plenty of things to look forward to that will be positive.  The housing market has been doing great for the past several months and forecasts show that trend to continue through 2010.