So says John Bitner, chief economist for Boston’s Eastern Bank and local housing market cheerleader who tells the Boston Herald that the Massachusetts real estate market should see an “uptick” come spring (which given the perplexing weather we have had here, coupled with blooming cheery blossoms on the Esplanade, some might argue is now). Another commenter, “Barry Bluestone, a housing expert at Northeastern University, agreed the housing market could hit bottom this year - but his hunch was that it might take until the summer” to reach an "uptick."

But there is no mention of the Center for Responsible Lending study that predicts 2.2 million foreclosures. There is no mention that the failures in the sub-prime mortgage market are only rising (and certainly no mention that mortgage companies and servicers are also heading into bankruptcy). There is no mention that these failures are only going to increase inventory which will have a negative impact on prices. As Michael Dawson from TheTimeAndMoneyGroup.com recently said that this all means that “…the value of your house is going down and its not stopping for awhile.” None of this is good news for homeowners who have refinanced over and over again, or recently purchased a home.

I cannot help but wonder if there is any harm to only glossing over what’s really going on out there in the housing market. For those who have sat through two days of rain on this weekend, and are awaiting the kick-off between the Chargers and the under-dog Patriots, I guess there’s no harm in hoping that the sun will come out tomorrow. However, I say that only with the hope that people remain prepared – emotionally and financially – for a lot more rain.