Yesterday was May Day.  I had not given it a lot of thought, but then realized I had not seen anything about May Day for quite some time. 
I remember vividly stock piling the light green plastic baskets that strawberries came in at the store and working tirelessly to weave colored stripes of paper through it for just the right look. If I ran out, then weaving together heart paper baskets.  If I got really festive, pipe cleaners were in involved. Then came the loading of the baskets--popcorn, graham crackers and chocolate. 
Next delivery--placing it outside someone's door, then ringing the bell and running away.  
Talk about simple pleasures of brightening someone else's day. 
The next door neighbor even had a may pole I remember spending hours swinging from.  I don't if I have ever seen another May Pole honestly. 
But that was 30 years, did May Day stop being a thing?  
I had to find out.

So how are you doing?  
Its been 6 weeks of working from home for me. 
​How long has it been for you?  How is it going? 
What have you learned? 
What is working for you? 
What is NOT working? 

Everyone needs someplace to live.

Now it might be a question of if extended family live with you or not.  

And in these current times, home ownership also brings CONTROL & CERTAINTY (from air quality to sanitary standards).   

Current rates for mortgages are LOW.  
And could go lower, the FED slashed their rate on Sunday, March 15, 2020 & mortgage rates are still trying to figure out how to react (it changes daily).  
I spoke to my banker yesterday, if you are looking to buy or refinance, brace yourself for a backlog in mortgage underwriting, so wait your turn in line (figuratively that is).

Quarantine also means you are ROCK family time.  Something that in our fast paced world is often forgotten. 

I AM!!  
Today it was gusty & I flung open the doors & let it cleanse the house.  It feels so good! 
Some people HATE, no DETEST cleaning in general, but somehow SPRING CLEANING is cathartic.
Its not that weekly grind like 'normal' cleaning, but those once a year tasks that can right my world--like thawing the deep freeze & organizing it or emptying the contents of my desk and purging.   

Here is the nitty gritty on WHY this is happening:

1. Increase in tenure in a home, its up to approximately 13 years.
   
2. Baby Boomers are choosing to age in place rather than downsize or move. Over 55% of homeowners are over age 50. 
3. Short supply of entry-level housing for the 8.5 million first time home owners due to hit the market in 2020. 
4. Slow growth in home construction, which is isolated to high-tier home construction predominately.

What does that mean?  Its a buyer's market folks.  

Yet, there is also murmuring of needed changes afoot in the real estate sector Nationwide--due to lagging in keeping up with changes in technology.
A stronghold which holds back industry evolution is the MLS (multiple listing service), which is a collection of local organizations that control physical access & data relating to homes for sale.
Along with the phone-book size set of bylaws & hefty annual membership fees (in Iowa the dues per agent are over $1500 annually), the service requires both sellers & buyers to work through realtors & shun those who don’t abide by its rules (AKA limited bargaining power for the seller & buyer).