Before we get into this fun festive holiday, I just want to give a shoutout to all the victims of the New York City accident and hope the residents of this incredible city know that they are in our thoughts and prayers.
Last day of October – can you believe it?! So crazy. Where did 2017 go? I’m not really sure but one thing is for sure – I’ve been working on my winter bod all year so I’m stoked to be putting my shorts away and bringing out those thick cable-knit sweaters! WOOHOO!
For those that have little ones, you are probably getting ready in the next few hours to go trick-or-treating! There are some great neighborhoods in the area! What I’ve learned over the years (obviously I’m talking YEARS ago back when I was 50 lbs), the best places to go hunting for candy are the tract neighborhoods – more families participating (#morecandy) and the houses that are closer together (#MORECANDY)!
When my sister and I were younger (late 90s), we would switch it up between Old La Costa and Terramar – both in Carlsbad. I will never forget this guy that lived in Terramar that always had the craziest haunted house. Every year was different – my personal favorite was when he turned his whole house into a haunted pirate ship. He claimed to do the whole thing himself but I swear there had to been some helpers – that thing was MASSIVE!
Now with so many newer homes, there are even more neighborhoods to explore! Bressi Ranch gets really into it and that neighborhood has a lot of families so I’m sure those decorations will be on point! Carmel Valley also has great tracts where the homes are closer together so you’ll definitely get a few pillow cases worth of candy!
But always remember there might be some crazies out there so keep those little ones close! You never know if some silly kid will be playing tricks on people. Hope everyone has a very happy and safe Halloween evening!
Our San Diego Case-Shiller Index is having its best year since 2013, and on track to set a new record later this year!
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 6.1% annual gain in August, up from 5.9% in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 5.3%, up from 5.2% the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a 5.9% year-over-year gain, up from 5.8% the previous month.
Seattle, Las Vegas, and San Diego reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities. In August, Seattle led the way with a 13.2% year-over-year price increase, followed by Las Vegas with an 8.6% increase, and San Diego with a 7.8% increase. Nine cities reported greater price increases in the year ending August 2017 versus the year ending July 2017.
“Home price increases appear to be unstoppable,” S&P Dow Jones indexes managing director David Blitzer said, before adding that national “home prices have reached new all-time highs.”
San Diego Non-Seasonally-Adjusted CSI changes:
January ’17
231.21
+0.8%
+5.7%
February
233.31
+0.9%
+6.5%
March
235.61
+1.0%
+6.4%
April
237.48
+0.8%
+6.6%
May
239.84
+1.0%
+6.5%
June
241.96
+0.9%
+7.0%
Jul
243.48
+0.6%
+7.1%
Aug
245.55
+0.9%
+7.8%
The highest reading of the San Diego NSA CSI was 250.34 in November, 2005.
The most-recent low point was 144.43 in April, 2009.
In spite of his cheesy style and odds stacked heavily against him, Greg is still pushing for his realtor-owned search portal to take over the internet. He is shooting for $1,100,000 in donations to make it happen, and so far he’s generated $241,000 – more than I thought!
If 10% of all realtors donated $25, he’d have double the money he needs, and if the home-search app ends up being spectacular, we could be headed for an exciting 2018 for realtors and how we sell homes!
Hi, it’s Greg,
GUESS WHAT? You will be able to start taking buyers away from Zillow and Redfin February 19th.
IT’S PROVEN – Our new home search app is strongly preferred over Zillow and Redfin by 100% OF HOMEBUYERS surveyed (price range $200,000-$850,000).
NEW TECHNOLOGY – This app leverages a new technology that gives buyers a significant home search advantage if they deal with you.
ON SCHEDULE – As promised, the website and app will be in your hands February 19th.
MARKETING VIDEO – A top national ad agency is producing a $50,000 marketing video you can embed in your personal website to promote your advantage to buyers.
TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS – Thank you for sharing the vision and supporting this mission. Now it’s a reality.
NOT YET A CONTRIBUTOR? – Just $25 gets you full access to the website, app and $50,000 marketing video. Contribute HERE.
IMMEDIATE PERKS- A contribution of $50 or more gets you next-day access to training graciously donated by our industry’s leading coaches.Learn more HERE.
We had eleven fewer new pendings last year during the week leading up to Halloween – a 20% drop. But it is overdue, and besides, eleven sales in either direction isn’t going to change the game.
The California Association of Realtors is pushing realtors to object to the Big Six tax reform. Here are the reasons why:
C.A.R. OPPOSES the Tax Reform Proposal Because:
We must reverse the decline in California’s homeownership rate. For over 100 years Congress has incentivized homeownership with the tax code; currently through the mortgage interest deduction. Any effort at reforming the tax code should maintain and prioritize this incentive. The current proposal only pays lip service to incentivizing homeownership. The proposed changes will result in only five-percent of taxpayers itemizing their deductions. Therefore, the vast majority of people will no longer receive any tax incentive to purchase a home. So, while the proposal keeps the mortgage interest deduction, the incentive effect of the deduction for Americans to become homeowners disappears.
This is a tax increase on California homebuyers and homeowners. Congress needs to protect taxpayers from double-taxation and maintain the deduction for state and local taxes, including property taxes. Not allowing the average homeowner in California to deduct their property, state and local taxes would effectively raise their taxes $3,000 a year! The Federal government would tax families on money paid to the state and to local governments they never used.
That’s all you got?
Tax reforms will come and go. Buy a house to lock down your living expenses, and provide housing stability for generations to come.
This chart from real estate firm Point2Homes ranks cities by their “median multiple” — the median home price divided by median household income. Take Vancouver, which tops the unaffordability list and has a median home sale price 17.3 times higher than the median household income:
A median multiple of greater than 5.1 is rated as “severely unaffordable,” which a disturbing number of major metropolitan areas qualify as, for reasons ranging from the huge influx of foreign investment in Vancouver to San Francisco’s severe housing shortage.
It’s all about millennials these days. Everything seems to center around these special snowflakes. But what about the original “me” generation? We’re talking about baby boomers, of course. What do these roughly 76 million Americans want when it comes to housing?
Well, they want multicar garages, for one thing. According to a recent survey by national homebuilder PulteGroup, they were the top feature boomers were looking for in a new home, followed by open decks or patios; eat-in kitchens; and a private yard.
About 38% of boomers plan to buy a home within the next three years, according to the report. About 11% expect to purchase a residence within the year.
The survey was of 1,043 folks between the ages of 50 and 65 who plan to buy a home in the next decade.
“Retirement marks a new phase in a baby boomer’s life, and it only seems natural to relocate or move to a new home when transitioning away from their primary career, or from the day-to-day rearing of school-aged children,” Jay Mason, vice president of market intelligence for PulteGroup, said in a statement. “It’s not surprising that the 55+ buyer wants a variety of options and choices in their homes.”
According to the survey, 39% of respondents said the main reason they’re moving is because they want to retire, 33% want to downsize, and 30% want to move to a more desirable location.
“One thing we know about boomers is they are not done yet,” says Amy Lynch, president of Generational Edge, a Nashville, TN–based company that consults with companies on generational differences in employees. “As a group, they are starting encore careers and also going back to school. And they often move to be near their millennial kids, who are having kids.” They also start new families of their own, through divorce or remarriage.
All of these situations may require a move. About 26% of boomers plan to stay in their current cities, but just move to a different home, while 34% want to remain in the state, but in a different city or town. Also, 38% hope to cross state lines.
Their top retirement destination? You guessed it: Florida. It seems you just can’t beat all of that year-round sunshine. The state was followed by fellow warm-weather states Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The cost of living is lower in these states than on the pricier West Coast or in the Northeast.
About 82% of boomers wanted to be someplace affordable, and 74% want to be close to their preferred health care programs.
But boomers don’t want to just pack up and leave their grandchildren. Being close to kids was their top consideration when choosing a new community. They also want to be near the water and park or other green space.
“We are in a period in this country where family life and family connections are very strong,” says Lynch. “There’s a lot of regret among boomers because they worked so many long hours when their kids were young. With grandkids, there’s a chance to make up for that.”
