I keep forgetting to get these posted after I mail my clients!!! This is for the end of September :).
I hope this month’s client letter finds you and your family doing well, staying safe, and managing this very strange time in our lives. Hopefully, you aren’t going crazy with mask aversion, political conspiracies, or kids being home all the time and still not doing their homework and chores!
As if we don’t have enough on our plate, the state has literally burst into flames! Now, I am taking allergy pills for bad air quality because god forbid I sneeze while grocery shopping or showing a home! Pretty sure someone at Albertsons almost drew their CCW (concealed carry weapon) down on me because I forgot an allergy pill that day! With all these fires, I wish all my firefighter clients, friends, and their supporting families my most sincere gratitude for what they are doing for us and all they are going through right now.
Surprisingly, amid all these issues, real estate continues to sell very well. In fact, we remain short on inventory and I need to get more listings on the market – hint, hint. The last three homes I’ve sold are all making new neighborhood highs. It took some fast talking and a lot of research but the appraisals all came in at value. In one case, I sold a home that was just purchased in April 2020. I put it into escrow four months after they bought it and we sold it for 52k more than they purchased it for. The market moved 11% for them in four months which is just crazy. As you can imagine, I have very happy sellers!
While our real estate market is solid, it does seem to be slowing since school started. Homes are still moving fast but I am not seeing the 5-10+ offers situation like before. That likely has to do with the higher home prices and shifting consumer focus as we move closer to the election. When potentially big changes are in the air, people tend to hunker down. However, buyers still outnumber sellers quite a bit.
Two important issues affecting our current market are loan refinances (slow banks) and home insurance. It is an awesome time to refinance but be patient as some banks are taking 60+ days now. Make sure you tackle all document requests ASAP. It helps immensely since the banks with the best rates are completely overwhelmed. Regarding home insurance, there have been a lot of companies abruptly cancelling policies. I have a great insurance broker named Tommy. He has personally saved me money and already helped several of my clients and friends do the same. Let me know if you need help and I will get you hooked up.
That’s all I have for this month! Please stay safe and give me a call for any real estate questions. In the meantime, enjoy the NFL, the NBA, and the start of fall, my favorite season all year!
Sincerely,
Stefan West
Stefan West, aka Mr. Murrieta.