There is always a bottom to every market and recent statistics on new home sales indicate that we are likely there. Yesterday, word came from the Commerce Department that new home sales dropped 11 percent in January to the lowest annualized level of sales in fifty years. When you keep in mind that the population has doubled in the same time span, you get a real sense of how horrible these figures are. And these statistics came against a backdrop of a real estate market where a new home price dropped a jaw dropping 5.6% from December’s prices. But is now a great time to buy, or is that still years away?

For the last five years, I've been a happy Vonage VOIP customer but with the proliferation of broadband both here and overseas, I'm going to go out on the limb and project that, five years from now, there won't be a market for paid VOIP subscriptions. With the increasing speed of the internet, services like Skype are getting better all the time and they offer features such as videocalling and integrated messenging that make paying much for IP telephone unwarranted. Aside from the 'Skype factor,' unlimited mobile phone calling plans are reducing the incentive to use VIOP for domestic calls. Add to Vonage's woes, the new nimble VOIP  competitors who are entering the market with lucrative pricing models.