I'd love to see an astrologer on TV. Not in a contest of dueling horoscopes, but someone interviewed for their thoughts and predictions about society, politics, the economy, weather, sports, all kinds of things. Any field where a commentator is giving a forecast such as "cloudy today, sunny tomorrow" or "housing booming this year, busting the next" is ripe for astrology. 

With the Sun into show-me-results Capricorn, this column will focus on one of these real-world predictions with genuine consequences,  and like everyone else will look ahead to the next year. Back in July 2005, I publicly posted that the real estate market would peak within the period of June 2005 to September 2006 (Read the original here). At the end of this year, this has become quite obviously true. Even official government statistics show that the housing slowdown is a serious drag on the economy. But back in the summer of 05 when real estate was hot and going up-up-up, this prediction was ahead of the curve.

So what's ahead for real estate in 2007? Prices in much of the country will still be weak in January and February but will show some signs of improvement in early March. This will be just a temporary correction; in April the market will again soften and fall hard in June. Then in August the situation will improve somewhat for older homes and historical areas, and some ultra-luxury markets and deals get attention from the media. The final and most serious wave down for the general market will be in late 2007, especially October and November.

If you know some astrology and want to know the mechanics behind these predictions, read on. Real estate is a durable market (opposed to things like stocks or commodities like coffee); all things that last relate to Saturn, the slowest moving of all planets. Jupiter shows what areas are growing. Here's an astro-economic review of the boom:

February 2000 - Jupiter enters Taurus, the sign where Saturn was at the time; this literally means growth comes to and end, and the tech boom busts shortly after.

August 2000 - Saturn pokes into Gemini for a couple months, then returns for good in April 2001. This means technology (Gemini) undergoes restructuring (Saturn) and has to face severe budgets and limits. So where does all the money created by the tech boom go?

July 2001 - Jupiter in Cancer. Planet of expansion in the sign of home means real estate looks very appealing. This jump starts the market all the way to August 2002.

June 2003 - Saturn in Cancer would have typically been the end of the real estate, but Jupiter's aspect from Virgo prevents serious losses for much of the year.

January 2005 - Saturn remains in Cancer, but receives a rare and very positive aspect from Jupiter in Libra. Jupiter's exaltation sign is Cancer, and Saturn's exaltation sign is Libra; so the aspect between these combined is called 'mutual reception by exaltation' and like it sounds is much more positive than a usual square would suggest. Real estate boomed, and mainstream magazines like the Economist said that home prices in the US had one of the largest increases ever recorded.

July 2005 - Saturn enters Leo. Though Saturn in Leo can initially mean high prices for real estate, the mutual reception between Saturn and Jupiter ends and more important Saturn starts moving towards an opposition with dissolving Neptune. The first pass of three was exact in late August 2006, but as early as autumn 2005 we got a partial glimpse of what would come later in full force. The opposition to Neptune was one of the main reasons behind my prediction of July 05.

August 2006 - Saturn, ruler of real estate, opposes Neptune, known for powers of dissolution. Neptune may have many positive qualities, but reality isn't one of them. Sure enough by the summer of 2006 the shine on real estate had dulled, and as the year went on the slowdown hit many areas across the country.

February & March 2007 - Jupiter in Sagittarius is in a positive trine aspect with Saturn; this means housing will improve somewhat, despite Neptune's 2nd opposition to Saturn in late February. People will step in to buy properties where values have dropped. Positive stats will come out and talking heads may even proclaim the end of the slowdown for the real estate market. But they don't know that Neptune still has another pass on Saturn!

June 2007 - As Jupiter's positive influence wanes, Saturn goes through the last opposition to Neptune. Real estate is again weak.

Early September 2007 - Saturn on royal star Regulus will mean a period of high prices for historic homes; ultra-luxury estates will have turnover and some media attention (Madonna sells 78 mil estate and the like).

Late October 2007 - Saturn conjunct South node. Though the Dragon's Tail is often ignored, this aspect is much worse than Neptune! This is real estate's final and most severe wave down. 

Next week - More real world astrology for 2007!

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I'll be talking on my fave topic 'Homer's Odyssey Through the Zodiac' at the January meeting of the San Francisco Astrological Society on 1/25/07. Watch next year for more details.

Please help share the wisdom of the Moon - forward Star Pearls to your friends! Also posted to the website on Tuesdays here.

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