Lost in the news of a big rally on Wall Street yesterday ..

was more evidence that American consumers are shifting their purchasing behaviors to respond to market conditions. For someone like me who likes to see people trying to solve problems for themselves and not simply rely on someone to come bail them out this is good news indeed. From a purely business standpoint this is likely to force a lot more tough decisions for builders and suppliers as their already thin margins are almost assuredly not going to reach the historic levels of the recent past anytime soon. Over time though they will find a way to adapt just as KB is now. Despite the pain for some, the news is certainly a welcome change from the recent past for those of us concerned with conservation and sustainable living.

It remains to be seen how this might play out in the Deep Creek market and whether or not more developers might begin to scale down plans while more buyers seek out smaller more manageable homes. Perhaps Mike Kennedy could shed some light on this subject. Based on the data he has previously presented things seem to be trending more towards the extremes KB saw in 2005 and 2006 when they experienced record selling prices as well. A key question would be whether square footage and building price per square foot (i.e. better amenities) are increasing in the Deep Creek market or is it the land cost driving prices higher (assuming there is enough data to show such a trend conclusively)? Then maybe we could get a better idea if the Deep Creek market was truly immune or simply out of sync and a few years behind the rest of the country. Stay tuned.

Don't forget to check back to Dan's Deep Creek Blog for future updates.