TWENTY TWENTY , or,
2020 --- whichever you say or see, we are in a
new chapter of the Timeline, seemingly in a jiffy minute. Our ‘teens’ are over ! As the year opens, we’ve barely caught our breath from the incredible sales year of 2019 wherein we closed 98 properties-- almost $300 Million in sales and have already seen demand and requests over the New Year holiday and first few business days of January. This is a good sign!
My personal gauge of how well the new year will go for real estate success is to observe how fast market activity returns after January 1
st. This past week our January 2
nd was the busiest in years. So was January 3
rd.
Buyers are deciding they are ready to invest or relocate,
Sellers
are deciding their timing is right ---
if they haven’t waited too long, depending on their price and location category. We are preparing to launch a number of trophy properties in January and early February ranging from $9M up to $18M. We will close properties from $950K up to $22M in the next 30 days as well. All price points are active,
unless they are considered overpriced.
Clients and friends ask me “how is the market now?”. The current questions reflect concerns over potential market slowdown due to
the Election Cycle disruption, or more recently --- the US assassination of a foreign terrorist military leader. Yes --- these will affect the real estate process, especially in the high value bracket.
Luxury
buyers & sellers sit on their fingers during times of national security or economic uncertainty.
Those clients can afford to wait it out. Others may have more pressing needs to buy or sell in
median price categories
ranging from $1M to $4M,
which will not be as disrupted as higher price categories.
My best advice from experience is Do Not Wait. Nothing stays the same, and prices may fall but interest rates may rise. If you use a Mortgage to purchase, then a lower priced home will cost you more with higher mortgage rates, so waiting on price reductions is being willing to pay more if interest rates rise. If you think home prices will continue appreciating as in recent years, I’ll predict
they will not. Minimal appreciation in the luxury sector is expected, but price softness is already the norm. Whatever your question or situation, I’m here to assist you !
-Ernie
