September Days are Here

Our Featured Properties in Compass Curated, September 2023, a collection of Compass’ most prestigious properties across the country:

Iconic Blackhawk Estate – 81 Eagle Ridge Place, Blackhawk

Villa Venti Venti – 2020 Victorine Road, Livermore

4456 Deer Ridge Road, Blackhawk

SOLD – Represented Seller – 336 Pheasant Run Drive, Blackhawk

East Bay Trivalley Market, August 2023

#1 AGENT IN DANVILLE & BLACKHAWK

(JANUARY 2023 – AUGUST 2023)

Market Watch

• New home sales, a government measure based on contract signings, increased in July to the highest seasonally-adjusted level since February 2022. (Barrons)
  
  
• From New York to California, cities are cracking down on short-term rentals with bans, license requirements, or limits on how many people can offer their homes for stays of 30 days or less. Airbnb and property owners are fighting back in court, but their lawsuits so far have had little success. Cities want more rules because they claim unregulated short-term rentals reduce the availability of affordable housing, boost local rents, and create unnecessary risks for guests and neighbors. New York, Las Vegas, Boston, Miami, and Los Angeles are becoming more restrictive. (BLOOMBERG)
  
  
• The US maple syrup industry is around $1.5 billion! Vermont, New York, and Maine are the top-producing states and produce about 80% of the maple syrup in the nation
  
  
• The top one percent of earners paid about 42% of the income tax revenue in the US, accounting for 10% of the government’s total federal tax revenue. Californian one percenters paid 16.13% of the national income tax, while New York’s paid 8.34%, Texas paid 7.85% and Floridians paid 7.58%. (YAHOO)
  
  
• In Miami Beach over the 3 months to June 2023, the average discount for a home purchased in cash for between $2m and $5m was 8.1%, up from 5.2% a year earlier, (FT)
  
  
• On average, electric cars can last around 200,000 miles or 12 years, which is longer than the lifespan of an average gas car (150,000 miles or 8 years). Batteries fare differently in different climates.
  
  
• Electricity rates in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island are double those in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Washington! Louisiana benefits when natural gas prices are low and Washington derives about 65% of its electricity from hydroelectricity which is consistently cheap and clean (although not 100% clean as the systems can emit methane). Hawaii and Alaska have the highest rates. Electricity rates in Kansas dropped the most in August, almost 15%!
  
  
• A plan to build a 50,000-acre walkable utopian urban oasis in the windswept hills of Northern California’s Solano County now has a splashy website, which aims to tout the controversial project’s benefits and win over wary locals. It will be interesting to watch how this plan – a privately funded effort to boost housing inventory dramatically – will fare. Will it proceed as planned and be successfully executed? Or will NIMBY-driven opposition prevent it from happening? Often NIMBY-ism -usually self-serving or when planning boards/zoning do not communicate clearly with one another and structure intelligent, practical plans – is the #1 cause for a lack of more affordable housing options.
  
  
• New home sales, a government measure based on contract signings, increased in July to the highest seasonally-adjusted level since February 2022. (Barrons)
  
  
• From New York to California, cities are cracking down on short-term rentals with bans, license requirements, or limits on how many people can offer their homes for stays of 30 days or less. Airbnb and property owners are fighting back in court, but their lawsuits so far have had little success. Cities want more rules because they claim unregulated short-term rentals reduce the availability of affordable housing, boost local rents, and create unnecessary risks for guests and neighbors. New York, Las Vegas, Boston, Miami, and Los Angeles are becoming more restrictive. (BLOOMBERG)
  
  
• The US maple syrup industry is around $1.5 billion! Vermont, New York, and Maine are the top-producing states and produce about 80% of the maple syrup in the nation
  
  
• The top one percent of earners paid about 42% of the income tax revenue in the US, accounting for 10% of the government’s total federal tax revenue. Californian one percenters paid 16.13% of the national income tax, while New York’s paid 8.34%, Texas paid 7.85% and Floridians paid 7.58%. (YAHOO)
  
  
• In Miami Beach over the 3 months to June 2023, the average discount for a home purchased in cash for between $2m and $5m was 8.1%, up from 5.2% a year earlier, (FT)
  
  
• On average, electric cars can last around 200,000 miles or 12 years, which is longer than the lifespan of an average gas car (150,000 miles or 8 years). Batteries fare differently in different climates.
  
  
• Electricity rates in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island are double those in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Washington! Louisiana benefits when natural gas prices are low and Washington derives about 65% of its electricity from hydroelectricity which is consistently cheap and clean (although not 100% clean as the systems can emit methane). Hawaii and Alaska have the highest rates. Electricity rates in Kansas dropped the most in August, almost 15%!
  
  
• A plan to build a 50,000-acre walkable utopian urban oasis in the windswept hills of Northern California’s Solano County now has a splashy website, which aims to tout the controversial project’s benefits and win over wary locals. It will be interesting to watch how this plan – a privately funded effort to boost housing inventory dramatically – will fare. Will it proceed as planned and be successfully executed? Or will NIMBY-driven opposition prevent it from happening? Often NIMBY-ism -usually self-serving or when planning boards/zoning do not communicate clearly with one another and structure intelligent, practical plans – is the #1 cause for a lack of more affordable housing options.

What is THE biggest mistake homebuyers make when thinking about buying versus renting?

1. Yes, real estate is hyper-localized, but everything about real estate decision-making is hyper-specific, not just markets, inventory, pricing, etc. Be hyper-localized on all the above as well as individual circumstances, finances, income, health, etc. There is a LONG list.
   
   
2. Rents rise. Almost always. Yes, there are periods when they come down, but over time they rise, usually closely linked.
   
   
3. Few people stay in a home for more than 13 years. The 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage has us believing people stay in a home for 30 years. Not so!
   
   
4. Interest rates go up and down. Refinancing is always an option.
   
   
5. Real estate taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs rise over time. But these increases are always passed on to rental tenants too.
   
   
6. The vast majority of first-home buyers don’t buy their DREAM home. Many who get their DREAM home buy it after a lifetime of savings and earnings often in their 60’s and later.
   
   
7. Seek professional help. Impulse buying – or not fully educated buying – can be very expensive. A rental impulse is usually curable within a year. While not free – never forget moving costs and fees – buying mistakes can be costly. You must do your homework. And if you are not a real estate guru, tap into the knowledge and insights of a professional agent. There is a big cost – whether paid for by the buyer or seller – but that pales compared to much costlier mistakes many who ‘go it alone’ experience.
   
   
8. Seek opportunity at the time of purchase: yes, that somewhat tired-looking home can be made much better with some paint and good taste. Lower your ‘needs’ a wee bit and you may be pleasantly surprised.
   
   
9. The compounding equity building of ownership – and associated tax savings – has its greatest value when started EARLY. The sooner the better.
   
   
10. There is a cost to waiting. Almost always. Why? Because housing is an essential need you will have to pay to live somewhere.
    
    
11. Cutting back a few ‘extra expenses’ to afford a purchase is a form of forced savings. While some may see this as pleasure deprivation, most would simply see it as wise.
    
    
12. While the world tells you to focus on ROI (return on investment) PPSF (price per square foot), DOM (Days on Market), and numerous other real estate investment measures, never forget the EPSF (ENJOYMENT per square foot). It may be the most important of all measures.

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