Chris Thompson   Chris Thompson on the internet

New Years Eve and Day have vanished in a blur, and now here we are in a properly new year, staring 2010 in the face. Everyone is making their new year’s resolutions. Traditionally, of course, this is a time for change, a time for a fresh start, a time for renewal. This is a time to be the person you want to be. But some things, it seems, don’t change. I was browsing a list of property prices in 2010, and couldn’t help but notice that here, in the property market, things seem as horrible as ever.

I’m almost certain that I read something about house prices going up, and might have even blogged about it a while ago, sometime towards the end of last year. Some news story or hint or glimmer of hope that suggested change – of a good variety – was on the horizon. But evidently I remember wrong.

No matter how you look at it, things for our economy are still not looking good, and as a recent graduate, that’s quite a scary thought. I still know people who are looking for a job over a year out of university. There was a time when having a degree alone was enough, but not anymore.

All the word at the pub tonight was about mortgages, too – even mortgage rates are under the shadow of this repression, which, like the enemy in a horror movie seems to never go away.

Here’s hoping things pick up soon. Otherwise, it’s not much of a happy new year so far. It’s not just affecting property buyers and home buyers, it’s affecting everyone countries’ property investors if things continue this way. Or any countries’, for that matter. But I suppose you can say that about a lot of jobs, in these times.

I woke up quite early today; I was up before the rest of the house, in fact, which is a real rarity at the moment. So I spent half an hour or so looking at mortgage news. It might sound a little boring, but it’s something that I quite like to do, every so often, just to keep abreast of how things are looking in the climate we find ourselves in. And there are some handy sites out there for just that sort of thing; you can sort of glance over the main headlines without needing to spend too much time reading anything.

There really was some quite positive stuff to read as well, which is always good to see. For example, there is an article here suggesting that mortgage rates are rising – indeed, rising for the first time since August, which is good to see. It might be a “small move”, but baby steps are always going to be needed with something like this.

I know that if I were in the market to sell my house, or in the mood to be selling any property at all, I would be pleased to see news pieces like this. I’d be starting to smile, I think. It is a good sign, because although there have been a few of these incidents, where things start to look good momentarily – often they are just that: momentary. Hopefully here, things can keep moving forward.

Now, it is time to kick back, relax, and watch a bit of the NFL, I think. Currently Tom Brady is on track to break the single game passing touchdown record. Unless they take him off, of course, which they probably will do considering the horrible conditions they’re playing in. I’m not usually the biggest fan of the Patriots, but when you have Brady in your fantasy team, having him throw 5 touchdowns in the 2nd quarter becomes slightly more exciting.

In a sort of continuation of the last blog, this will be on a similar theme. I just thought that sthe subject sort of deserves its own thread. As far as earning extra money is concerned, the field of property could be particularly fruitful – although again it is something where you’ll need a bit of money beforehand. I posted a bit the other day about fast house sales – but now, it seems, there is evidence to suggest the house market is stabilising. At least a little bit.

Although it doesn’t sound like much, property prices have just risen by £1, 500.

In addition to this, if you look here, there are property blogs here that probably go into it in a lot more detail than I’ll ever be able to, but it’s certainly another option. At least for UK property. I can’t speak for other countries, but property shows are constantly on the TV here, and people always seem to be able to pick up bargains at auction, and then turn them into big earners.

Just a thought, anyway…

The news today was filled with a number of interesting stories, but there were two that particularly stood out for me. Firstly, in an act of tremendous goodwill, a woman in Nigeria has given her lottery winnings to a beggar. And what a lucky beggar they are. I can just picture the look on their face as they hold out their hand for a bit of spare change, only to be given a cheque for 3 million naira.

Hopefully, too, the winnings will go towards things that matter; things like a home, and good food, and all the things that we take for granted. It will go towards things that help, rather than being blown on fancy cars, or expensive toys.

Quite curiously, the reason she gave for giving the money away was that she was scared she would become broke. She had read reports that a number of lottery winners become “broke in the short run and come across a lot of misfortune.” I must admit the idea of giving your money away because you’re scared of running out of money seems slightly strange. But all the same, it’s a heart-warming story.

And secondly, another thing that caught my attention today was a story regarding houses and property in the Philippines. If prices are going to fall, then I would be very tempted to look into any bargains that might spring up. There are a number of things that appeal to me about it as a place to visit.

But looking into Philippines real estate would, of course, depend on a number of things. Not the least of which is this side job taking off in the manner that I hope it does. Oh well, fingers crossed, and we’ll just have to see how things go. First things first – I need to clean my house a bit, because I’m moving into a new one in a few days time. And I quite fancy getting my deposit back in its entirety!