What We're Hearing

The "sand states" (that would be Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada) will take a decade to come back and all looks bleak when it comes to property values. But as I write this, I'm surrounded by 30 inches of snow with 100,000 Montgomery County, Md., residents still without power (read heat) 48-plus hours after the blizzard of 2010. Today, the federal government is officially closed. Many neighborhoods aren't plowed and the kids are starting to get a little bit sick of sledding. The thing is, I don't mind the cold and snow but plenty of mid-Atlantic residents are probably starting to wonder if maybe having a home (or second home) in one of the sand states isn't such a bad idea after all. I'm not ready to move but sometimes disasters create opportunities in real estate...