Recently, I traveled to Chicago with our President-Elect Tom Speet to attend the 2005 Leadership Summit hosted by the National Association of REALTORS. The event was attended by over 2000 Association Executives and their incoming Presidents. It was an excellent program with plenty of information relative to leadership and how Associations can best serve their members. On the final day of the program we heard a presentation from the Chief Economist of the National Association of REALTORS, David Lereah. David is a well respected economist, writer, television commentator and he truly knows his material when it comes to real estate. It pleases me to report that David sees no bursting of the so-called housing bubble that many in the media continue to predict. In fact, history, trends, current statistics seem to indicate real estate will continue to be the backbone of our economy even during somewhat volatile times.

One of the things that amazed Tom and I was that Florida and Nevada are two of the hottest booming markets in the country, experiencing tremendous growth, appreciation and demand. Nevada I can understand for a wide variety of reasons, but Florida? Why is that? Now don't misunderstand…..I like Florida as a place to visit and I have family living there, but frankly its not for this long time Midwesterner! The appeal of the Florida sunshine and the beaches is an attraction to many, but the current boom the State is experiencing puzzles me. For gosh sakes, Hurricanes are blowing away the landscape, tearing up buildings and even killing people more often than ever before but still the 'boom!' Add to that, those tropical bugs they've got there seem to be as large as a small dog! The heat, the humidity, what's the great appeal? Cost of living - its no secret many Florida businesses like to 'pay in sunshine' but I've never understood how sunshine pays the bills. How come, I ask, is Florida so alluring? Sure, I hear about our Michigan summers becoming shorter while winters often are harder. I hear about the lethargic economy, budget shortfalls, job losses and the like but isn't Michigan REALLY a pretty darn nice place to live, raise a family, experience the seasons and enjoy life when you take a big picture perspective of things? Speaking of the seasons, does Florida have a season that really can match the beauty of a Michigan autumn? For one, I believe it is - a great place to live and enjoy life. So what's the point? The point is it's our job, not only as REALTORS but also as Michigan resident's to accentuate our countless positives. To do so will only help make things better. Appreciation in home prices and other aspects of economic development in our State have not been impressive and much work needs to be done to bring us back to the days of tremendous growth and desirability. I look forward to the day that I can sit in the audience of a National Leadership Summit and hear the Chief Economist speak of a Michigan Renaissance! Wouldn't that just be great? Can you imagine Floridians making the pilgrimage to Michigan for a change? Okay, call me a dreamer but Walt Disney once said, "If you can dream it, it can be done." Let's follow the dream.