Real Estate "Brain Freeze"

"I scream - You scream - We all scream for ice cream!"

• My Dad taught me this little jingle when I was a kid - and I loved it. He didn't, however, tell me about the dreaded "brain freeze." As I recall, now that I think about it, he did mention: "There's such a thing as too much of a good thing." And something about "all things in moderation." Whatever...

If ever there was a phenomenon that was a mirror image of human nature, the "real estate market" is it. There are those that will tell you that "people are basically good." I don't buy that - not for a minute. I buy the biblical premise that we are imperfect. Case in point: Have you ever known of a child that had to be taught how to be greedy? The way I see it, 1999 to 2005 represents a huge ice cream sundae. We all grabbed spoons - no, shovels - and gorged ourselves. Palm Coast real estate was smokin' hot. Oceanfront homes sold quickly. Salt water canal homes and Intracoastal homes were soaring. Life was good. We thrilled at the deals we made and the wise investments we orchestrated.

We were at that great ice cream shop next to Starbucks on A1A in St. Augustine Beach recently. I had my "home made French vanilla with fresh raspberries" going down pretty good when it hit: Brain Freeze. It was awful. Everyone was laughing, as I suffered. Now you may think I'm making this part up for its story value, but as I was writhing in pain, I thought of the economy... and how it was like this brain freeze thing. One minute we were feasting on a savory delight... the next minute we had two chop sticks plunged into our eyes. (I was told not to use this imagery. "Too graphic... yucky.") But it works for me. And if you're trying to sell your house right now, I'll bet it works for you too.

• The good news? I got over my brain freeze. It took a while, but I recovered. Yeah, I got to finish my ice cream... and even went next door and got a latte for the road. As 2008 is coming this week, I see the early signs of modest recovery on the horizon... And the latte? Well, maybe 2009...