September 2020

Busy Week

September 28, 2020Busy week ... First there was a 16 offer situation on the Eastside. Then 12 offers on the Westside. Followed by 10 more in Capitola, 8 in Aptos and 6 each in Pacific Grove and North Monterey County. When the dust finally settled, there were 6 buyers that emerged from the mosh pit victorious and another 52 (and their agents) who found themselves back at square one waiting for the next big offer scrum. That’s a lot of disappointed Buyers and Buyers’ Agents. In some...

Pod People

September 22, 2020After my recent series detailing the growth of Silicon Valley and how it has affected the Santa Cruz real estate market over the last 30 years, a number of people reached out to ask different versions of the same question: Who exactly is selling their homes these days and where are they going? And who is buying those homes and where are they coming from? Great question. Here’s a very simple way to think about the big picture: By far, the majority of people selling...

Musing about Buyers Remorse

September 8, 2020Musing about Buyers Remorse. That insidious part of real estate that takes great pleasure in showing up like an unwanted guest in the middle of so many escrows. I’m sure Realtors use the phrase too much but what else can we call “it”? Is there another word to describe all those clandestine meetings that happen in our clients’ heads while they’re struggling to navigate the home-buying process? Or the crazy cascade effect that ratchets-up when their worry centers start tossing “what-Ifs” into the air like...

Paradox of the Pandemic

September 1, 2020Continuing the conversation… about our evolving experience of the coronavirus and the shockingly busy real estate market that has risen in its wake. Could anyone have predicted this market five months ago? Buyers donning face masks to escape the virus (now also the smoke) then lining up in droves to write offers on listings as fast as they come on? It’s a strange time. And at first glance, there’s a huge disconnect between real estate and the real world. Who would want to buy a...