September 2021

Resuming our conversation with Richard and Rachel

September 27, 2021Resuming our conversation with Richard and Rachel...navigating the challenges of DownSizing and wrestling with the litany of age-old questions that come with it: the existential nature of change, fears about diminishment and the quest to find positive ways to turn down-sizing into right-sizing for the last third of life… Tom: Rachel you mentioned you gained valuable insight from watching your own parents age. Rachel: Yes, my folks retired at 65, almost to the day. They just turned the sign around and called it quits. They...

2nd Installment with Richard and Rachel

September 20, 2021Picking up the conversation with Richard and Rachel, gracious homeowners who have agreed to be the poster-couple for our discussion about downsizing. While everyone’s life is different, anyone currently wrestling with their own downsizing questions will probably identify with some of their comments. Feel free to email me your own as well. Tom: Richard, you said the huge scope of change is the hardest part for you. Richard: Yes, if it was just about the finances of downsizing, that would be pretty simple. It’s not...

Honorary Poster-Couple

September 13, 2021Picking up the thread...eavesdropping on a real life real estate situation courtesy of Richard and Rachel (a local couple whose names have been changed.) They’ve graciously agreed to share their story and be the Honorary Poster-Couple for the huge swathe of aging baby-boomers out there that’s trying to figure out what comes next in the last third of their lives. Richard and Rachel have owned a 4br, 3ba, 3200 sq ft home on the non- ocean side of Hwy 1 for twenty-five years. Their kids...

Counter-Intuitive Wisdom

September 7, 2021Continuing the conversation… about the counter-intuitive approach to pricing many sellers are still having trouble wrapping their heads around as they navigate the new normal of today’s market: You can get more for your house by listing it for less! Let me say it again... sellers often get a higher price in the end if they list their house at a lower price up front. Wow, that goes against every ounce of conventional wisdom that Sales 101 ever taught us. It’s one more befuddling...

Dax Nollenberger

- Dax Nollenberger

Dax’s Data- The Benefits of Strategic Pricing

September 2, 2021Let’s talk through a hypothetical scenario for a moment. You’re discussing listing price strategy with your Santa Cruz realtor and the agent suggests a price range between 1.3M and 1.4M. The house, based on 5 comparable homes in the area, is worth about 1.4M. While initially on board, a few days go by and you see a comparable house down the street that was originally listed for 1.3M sell for 1.5M after only 6 days on the market. “That’s what my neighbor got for a...