"Ring Out Wild Bells"

December 31, 2009

The words of Alfred, Lord Tennyson in his long poem "In Memoriam" seem an appropriate toast to 2009; perhaps even to the entire first decade of the 21st century. I quote the first two verses of one of the sections of this lengthy tribute:

"Ring out , wild bells, to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light;

The year is dying in the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.



Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow;

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die."



Most of us in the real estate profession will be happy to say farewell to 2009. I suspect that many buyers and sellers will also hope that the challenges of 2009 will be replaced with more resolution of the effects of the housing downturn as the real estate market resets values. So, to paraphrase:

Ring out the talk of loan modification,

Ring in the help that's long been promised.

Ring out the long approval times,

Ring in the change so widely promoted.

Ring in 2010 with better regs,

Ring in 2010 with fewer snags,

Ring KMART bells for sales completed,

Ring out the old times, ring in the new.

As is evident, I am not a poet, but my Toast for the new year is sincere.