The Holiday season and the end of the year is a time for everyone to count their blessings. This is tough to do when it has been a rough few years for the economy, the markets and housing. Sometimes during rough times it helps to maintain some perspective. The stock market? Sure the Dow is below where it was in late 2007, but it is up over 70% from its trough in 2009. And the Dow was below 3,000 twenty year ago. House prices have dropped significantly in the past few years, but twenty years ago the average house price was below $100,000, or approximately 50% below where it is today. Homes are as affordable right now as they have been in a generation. As weak as the economy is right now, it is growing. Consumers are starting to spend and we are creating jobs whereas just last year we were losing an average of 500,000 jobs per month. While the effects of this devastating recession will be felt for years to come, the economy is now growing without as much government stimulus. This economic growth leaves us in quite a conundrum. The recession is over, however, economic growth is too slow to bring down employment significantly. And the real estate markets will not recover without solid employment growth. If we use more government stimulus right now, this would be positive for the economy. However, this means we would be piling up more debt and raising the long-term threat of inflation. The resulting higher rates would slow down economic growth. This is why the markets seem to be quite conflicted over the agreement to extend the tax cuts. Looking ahead, we have said many times during the past few years that this recovery will be a slow one with many stops and starts. This type of recovery will extend the pain for many. The good news? It is more likely to be a longer, more sustainable recovery in the long-run. So while tiny steps may not seem like much, we believe when we look back two years from now, the progress will be significant. Here is looking for a better 2011 than 2010, which was much better than 2008 and 2009.