Housing Leads the Way
Posted on April 26th, 2008 by Jonathan Dalton
For those who haven’t tripped over this information in the past, I’m currently the president of the Board of Trustees for my synagogue, Temple Gan Elohim. We’ve rented space at a number of different churches over the past seven years and currently are trying to work out the feasibility of buying a place of our own.
Editor’s note - No, this isn’t a fundraising appeal, especially on Shabbat … but checks always are welcome. 
We’ve talked on and off about starting a serious capital campaign but the question was raised of whether this is the right time. After all, with the current economy, is this really the time to solicit donations?
And that got me thinking …
There’s no question the cost of goods and services is on the rise. Sticker shock at the gas tank is one thing but it happens every time we buy a gallon of milk as well. In fact, the only things that don’t seem to be rising are the Dollar Menu at McDonald’s … and the cost of housing here in the Phoenix real estate market.
If you were to argue that we’re currently in a recession I probably wouldn’t disagree. But from the standpoint of the housing market, the recession started nearly two years ago when sales began to slow and prices started to fall.
And just as the housing sector was the first to enter into the recession, housing historically is the first sector to recover as well. I believe the term’s “leading indicator.”
Some folks I know who are debating whether to sell are being urged by friends and family not to do so, to wait until the market “gets better.” I don’t necessarily disagree, as long as they understand that someone paying more for their house will mean they’re paying more for the house they purchase when they sell.
Sometimes the debate over whether “it’s the right time” has less to do with timing and more to do with looking for outs, for reasons not the purchase. There’s nothing wrong with that. But the indecision usually doesn’t go away.
Years ago, when I was a reporter covering the Arizona Legislature, one member of the state House asked when my wife and I were going to start a family. We’d been married for about three months. I told him we’re going to wait until we get settled and until the time was right.
“Jonathan,” he said, “if you wait until the time’s right you’ll never have any kids.”
With three running around now - one with her first real boyfriend (ugh) and the other two with their assorted mishegas - I see how right he was.
Maybe there’s an outright wrong time for things - for purchasing a house, for raising funds to purchase a synagogue’s first permanent home, for having children. But a right time? It’s a fairly elusive concept.
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