The cover story of the September 21, 2011 Wall Street Journal was titled, “Home Forecast Calls for Pain.” The main point made in the article was that the next four years will be slow growth in the housing marketing and for the economy. The housing situation, meaning bank owned properties, has slowed construction, weighing down the rest of the economy.
Two years ago SunTrust Bank published a study stating that 60% of business owners were delaying the exit from their business for two years, on average, due to the Great Recession. Many of them were probably expecting the economy to be turned around by now. I know I expected 2011 to be the year when things improved.
It appears stagnation is the new norm. Anybody holding expecting things to quickly get better is probably losing their grip6. Some advice:
Business sellers, don’t expect a better transaction market and higher prices soon.
Business buyers, if you really want to own a business, why wait? This is the market of the future.
Business owners, if you’ve been waiting for your business to rise with the economic tide, it’s going to be a long wait. If you want to grow, you’re going to have to be proactive and invest in your company.
“The housing market needs the economy to add jobs, but the economy isn’t able to rely on the job boost housing normally provides in a recovery. We’re in uncharted territory.” The Wall Street Journal
