Go team!

Yes, it's football season. But I have a different team I'm pulling for.

I'm pulling for nearly a dozen homes for sale in our neighborhood. Before we bought our house I thought "comps" were free things media staff received to get into things for free. Now I know "comps" are a sneaky way our neighbors have a hand in our home equity.

There are two houses for sale directly across the street from our home. Both were in bad shape, but maybe if I make my front yard nice enough it will be like a 12th man to get top dollar for them.

Why do I care?

I want my neighbors to sell for a lot, and quickly. DOMs (days on the market) can tell you a lot about a housing market. Namely, how easy is it to sell the house. If it sits for sale for months, that's way worse than it selling within a week or two.

I understand our neighborhood is in its first depression. Most of the homes were built since 2000, and I think many of the homes for sale in the last year were due to foreclosures, which I assume is due to adjustable rate mortgages whose rates jumped after an introductory period.

It's a lot of assuming, but I think things will only go up from here. New construction is planned (although I don't know if that's a good idea considering how many for sale signs I've seen in the city on my daily commute).

Another assumption is that most of these homes are starter homes and the families are outgrowing them. It's about their time to move up and out.

More power to them. That will be us in a year (maybe more).

So to all of you with signs in your front yard, I'm rooting for you. When you win, we all win.