My buddy in Texas Robert Russell has this to say noting that NY is set to experience some pretty heavy job loss…

NEW YORK – Only five metropolitan areas in the U.S. will escape job losses this year, according to a forecast released Saturday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

New York is expected to take the biggest hit as thousands of jobs are lost on Wall Street. Big financial firms are slashing workers as they cope with bad debt. Other companies have gone under, like Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in September.

The New York area is expected to lose 181,000 jobs in 2009, the report said. Consulting company IHS Global Insight produced the report for the group.

The Los Angeles area is expected to see 164,000 lost jobs, in part because of the huge drop in home prices that has punctured the California economy.

After New York and Los Angeles, the Miami area is expected to see the greatest loss, with a decline of 85,000 jobs. Chicago and the surrounding area are next, with losses projected at 80,000.

For myself and my team at Keller Williams, we are expecting our best year ever.
Keller Williams Capital District is the fastest growing brokerage in the area, and our numbers are MASSIVE even in this economy. The Capital Region is blessed with a real estate market that does not experience the wild ups and downs that you might see elsewhere in the country.
There is mortgage money to be had at fantastic rates and prices are pretty stable even with a little correction.
I say it’s going to be a great year!

Matt