Did You Know? 9-3-2022

DID YOU KNOW?

• CRYPTO ALERT: Over the last 4 months, 5 COMPASS agents around the US have reached out to COMPASS’ Richard Hopen about prospective buyers who wanted to use crypto to buy a $5M to $7M house. Not one was a legitimate buyer. The “buyer” usually makes initial contact via text and then moves the conversation to WhatsApp. They are vague about their identity and not willing to talk on the phone because of their poor English. Here is how to determine if the buyer is real: Explain that you need proof of funds and ask for a screenshot of their crypto balance and their public wallet address. A public wallet address (a string of alphanumeric digits) allows anyone to see the crypto holder’s account balance and the type of crypto. A real crypto buyer would happily provide their public address. The scam may be to get the agent to download software and share financial information. If the buyer provides a wallet address, feel free to contact Richard who can explain the next steps to verify their identity.
  
  
• The ENABLERS Act – which the House passed in July – would empower the Treasury Department to require so-called “gatekeepers” to the U.S. financial system – including certain lawyers, accountants, and registered agents – to look into their clients and report suspicious activity, just as banks are required to do. It’s unclear whether the Senate will pass it, but the principle behind it is that Americans who make a business model out of money laundering shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. (Congress.gov)
  
  
• Housing has seen prices advance relentlessly, rising 46 percent nationally in just the past three years. Now home affordability is the lowest it has been since 1989. (YAHOO)
  
  
• Two 40-story 338-feet skyscrapers in a residential area on the outskirts of New Delhi were demolished after India’s Supreme Court ruled last year that the builders of the two towers had violated a series of critical construction rules, ordering the buildings to be razed to the ground. Some building codes are tough, especially when they are enforced! (CNN)
  
  
• The top 40% of income distribution in the US accounts for 60% of US consumer spending. The people who tend to rent are those least likely to be able to pay the higher prices. According to 2021 Pew Data, 60% of renters are in the lower quartile of American income. If you look at net worth, including asset wealth, that number rises to 87.6% (PEWResearch.org)
  
  
• 234 million people surf Zillow’s apps and sites monthly (a figure equivalent to over 90% of U.S. adults), but Zillow monetizes only 3% of U.S. real estate transactions. (WSJ)
  
  
• A new record price was achieved in Downtown Los Angeles’ Arts District and Justin Alexander, Tab Howard, and Michael Robleto of COMPASS Los Angeles made it happen! See the LA TIMES article here.
  
  
• A survey of 1,086 CEOs of U.S. companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 list found that 64% wake up by 6 a.m., or earlier. Nearly 90% of the CEOs surveyed rise no later than 7 a.m. (CNBC)
  
  
• Neuroscientists say that spending time near oceans, lakes, rivers, and other blue spaces can provide a range of benefits including reducing anxiety, easing mental fatigue, and rejuvenating us. When you are near it, there is often less visual and auditory information to process. Our mind can rest, which may explain the soaring demand for pools in the past 2-3 years. And the value of any waterfront property. ANY water features usually add value to a home, not to mention a good bathroom! (Biznews)
  
  
• A 2019 study found that it takes at least two hours a week in nature to improve our well-being, which can be broken into smaller stretches. (ScienceDaily)
  
  
• Lacquered painted ceilings are a trend these days and they do look great: one lesser-known value-add is their ability to transport and reflect light deep into rooms and spaces that have lesser light. (Housegrail)

The End Of Summer Approaches

1. One of the very few certainties in life is change, and it allows us to view it through different lenses: We can either mourn the loss of one season or celebrate the arrival of a new one.
   
   
2. With over three weeks left of the current season, maybe we can make these the best three weeks of all?
   
   
3. We have three weeks to think, discuss, strategize, and plan for the next season. What about the next season excites you? What is unique to that season? List all the things you might be able to do then that you would not necessarily do now.
   
   
4. Seasonal shifts deliver new themes, new colors, and new language. What are they and how can you embrace that in your life, messaging, and marketing?
   
   
5. What lessons did the last season teach you? What were you fearful of in Spring as Summer approached that now looking back was an unfounded fear?
   
   
6. What trends have you seen emerge during this season that may continue going forward? Or will they change and how?
   
   
7. Every season delivers one thing: newness. Newness, renewal, and new opportunities are what make life interesting. New seasons deliver new awareness and a new appreciation for past seasons, or the current one, knowing its time is limited.