Happy Holidays!  It’s time to get those letters sent to the North Pole! I hope you get everything you want this holiday season as you write your annual letter to Santa Claus.

Here is a sneak peek at my letter to Santa:

Dear Santa,

This is Tony Jarrett from the Allen Tate Company.  Remember me?  I’m the one who really wanted that Planet of the Apes set with matching outfit and you delivered!  My parents thought I was crazy, but that set was soooo cool. And those movies were so popular in the early 1970s.

So how have you been?  Good year at the North Pole?   Are the reindeer and Rudolph doing well?  I sure hope so because we need some good energy from you this holiday season.

I wanted you to know I have been really good this year.  I have worked really hard and have been really nice to so many people.  I sure hope I made the good list this year because it was one of my goals, as it is every year.

So in that spirit I would ask you to consider giving not only me, but everyone, the following in 2012:

• Santa, please bring us more jobs. It appears the economy is improving, more jobs are being created, and the unemployment rate is decreasing.  That is what I want most so we can all continue to feel better and better about the American dream.

• Santa, please continue these increasing housing sales we are experiencing. More people are buying homes right now, momentum is building, and I hope you can provide continued housing sales in 2012.  That will mean more furniture sales, more construction jobs, more local tax revenue, and more consumer confidence – housing should lead our country back to economic success!

• Santa, please continue stabilizing and increasing housing prices. With most predictions that we are at the bottom for housing prices and stabilizing in most markets, homeowners will start improving their equity, their assets and wealth will grow, and their ability to make solid financial investments will improve.  We are seeing this start to happen now!

• Santa, please keep housing affordability solid. With mortgage interest rates around 4 percent, could you keep the rates at that level a bit longer while the economy improves?  This provides homebuyers very affordable monthly payments – some of the best affordability since the 1960s!  There has never been a better time for more “bang for your buck” and I hope you can continue that trend in 2012.

• Santa, please build the optimism to new heights in 2012. Homeowners continue to see homeownership as a positive experience, an important part of the American dream, and a smart decision for a long-term investment.

Thank you so much, Santa.  I hope you and Mrs. Claus, and all the elves at the North Pole have a great Christmas and Happy New Year.  I will leave the gas logs off for you on Christmas Eve, and I will also have your annual Bailey’s, Peppermint Schnapps, and coffee ready for you to keep you warm.

Big hugs,

Tony J

(By Tony Jarrett, Regional Vice President, Triad)