On Christmas Eve, in the middle of the day, chaos ensued at the Whole Foods Market on University Avenue in San Diego. Too many shoppers, with too many cars, were creating gridlock/ Despite the valet parking service as well as the traffic control officers hired for the day, it was the price of doing food shopping that day at that store. On New Years Eve, in the middle of the day, the REI store on Copley Drive drew so many buyers that the check out line stretched around the store and held steady under the kayak section  and into the shoe section. The estimated wait time to reach a cashier was 35 to 40 minutes. On New Years Day, the Hotel del Coronado was not serving meals to non-guests. “We are not accepting walk-ins,” announced the hostess at the 1500 Ocean restaurant, “Only guests of the hotel are being served.”  These are all signs of consumption by consumers with confidence. Of course, this bodes well for how we perceive the economy and thus how we spend our money. In real estate, inventory is low in most neighborhoods. Along with interest rates at the lowest they  have ever been, this points to an improved value for existing homeowners.  For starters, 2012 bodes well.