I saw a rather pathetic site this morning. He was supposed to be the Statue of Liberty: A middle aged man with facial hair wandering around the intersection of Kirkman and Colonial wearing a green dress and a pointy star thing on his head. He was carrying a sign for Liberty Insurance.

It was pathetic because not only did he make a really unattractive Statue of Liberty, but he clearly wasn’t enjoying his work. It makes one wonder about the value of such advertising. “Human directionals” as they are known can work wonders as “directionals” for hard to find businesses, but when they are used as a form of mobile advertising, they can smack of a desperate attempt to drum up business.

What has any of this got to do with condos? Well, I’ve seen one or two of these human directionals lately outside new condo developments and conversions projects.  And what that tells me is that developers are still ready to make you a great deal if you’re a serious buyer. So look out for those chickens and statues of Liberty. And if you want to know when the tide is turning, note when they disappear. Because that means that life is good again – and prices are about to go up.