When will Spring arrive? That’s the question on everyone’s mind these days. What a disappointing weekend we had last Saturday and Sunday with the torrential rains on both days. Not the kind of weather conducive to bringing people out looking at real estate. I guess the good news is that when the nice weather does finally arrive, we are definitely going to have some very healthy green grass all around us to enjoy looking at. In spite of the weather last weekend, I did have two showings on Saturday and two on Sunday on a new listing I took recently in Williams Bay, so we are seeing some activity beginning to take place. Have you noticed that there is some positive news being reported about real estate these days? Not so much with the sales numbers and statistics, as those numbers are still showing declines in most cases through the month of March, but more to do with a higher sense of optimism about the future. In two recent articles I saw, one referred to the so called “bottom” being in sight and the other talked about the increased number of first time Buyers deciding to purchase now. Much of the increased activity does in fact seem to be related to first time Buyers, possibly taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit recently passed in Washington, and a number of sales are happening in some parts of the country on REO or bank owned property that is priced in many cases at below market prices. However it starts and whatever it starts with, if the public hears that people are electing to buy now, that can only have a positive effect on the market overall and encourage more Buyers to have the confidence that now is the time to take action.