Be Afraid...

Or not. But Lawrence Yun, the chief economist with the National Association of Realtors, wasn't sounding upbeat when he told the organization's national convention "We're in a time of fear."

What's so scary? This is the first year since the Great Depression to register a nationwide decline in median home prices, Yun says according to a Seattle Times story, and he expects the market to be flat throughout 2008.

Of course, the national average is just that -- an average. Local markets may be doing worse...or better. Here in Olympia, residential sales have slowed somewhat, but we're certainly not knocking on Depression's door. And a number of new projects promise to inject new life into downtown Olympia, including a new Washington State Employees Credit Union headquarters, a new City Hall, and the port development including the new Hands On Children’s Museum.