I’m excited for our new lease listing at 219 S Poinsettia Pl. The offering is a 2 story townhouse with public rooms downstairs and 3 beds/2 baths upstairs. 2 of the bedrooms upstairs share a Jack + Jill bathroom and the primary bedroom is a suite. There’s a private entrance and double doors that open from the dining room to the backyard. A 2 car garage makes it truly feel like a private home. The whole house was entirely remodeled, including a brand new kitchen and 2.5 brand new baths and there are windows everywhere that fill the whole house with sunshine. The location is stellar – just 3 blocks to Pan Pacific Park & 4 blocks to The Grove. Trader Joes, Ralphs, CVS, and cool restaurants on La Brea are a hop and a skip away too. These landlords are the best, which is the cherry on top! We’re excited to show and to find just the right stewards for the next chapter of this home!
The question we’ve been asked all week is… how will the real estate market be affected by the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank? I don’t believe that any of us truly know the answer to that question because the workings and potential fallout are far more complex and involved than any of us know. What we are seeing firsthand is that uncertainty and fear of the unknown makes people want to shut down and wait for a feeling of safety. When the Corona Virus first arrived, along with a Mask Mandate and a Shelter in Place Order, even people who would otherwise have bought or sold a house, decided emotionally to wait a bit and see what would happen next. When interest rates suddenly shot up in 2022, even people who were cash buyers and didn’t need a loan, thought to sit tight and see the potential fallout of the rate hikes. And now again, with the failure of 2 banks, people are thinking to wait and see if there will be contagion or if it’s hopefully limited to just 2 banks with a large percentage of uninsured deposits and otherwise we’ll be ok.
For the 17 years I’ve been a real estate agent, I’ve always said that there’s no way for anyone to accurately predict the future; we only know the very immediate happenings in front of us today. For today, sellers who have locked in a 30 year fixed loan with an interest rate of 2-3% are trying their hardest to hold on to their house and their low interest rate. The rental market is flooded with sellers who choose to rent vs sell because interest rates went up and now they want to hold on to the low interest rate they secured in the past. Real estate prices have not gone down since interest rates went up because of the extraordinarily limited supply due to all those locked-in low interest rates. There are many cash buyers looking to buy. Banks are offering interest-only loans fixed for 10 years at 4.25%, which makes the mortgages affordable to plenty of buyers. When interest rates shot up, buyers who would otherwise buy, thought to “wait it out” while they still felt uncertainty. As rates stabilized at the very beginning of the year, and it felt more certain, buyers jumped in and bought houses. And now, the news of SVB this week once again creates uncertainty, which makes buyers want to sit on the sidelines and wait a bit for stability again.
Buying and selling a house in any market takes fortitude and courage because for most people, it’s the biggest financial investment of their life. It makes sense that it takes feeling comfortable and safe in the world to engage on such a big level. We first need to know with relative certainty that we won’t catch a potentially deadly virus if we stand less than 6 feet away from a stranger who might have a cough. And then we need to know with relative certainty that the government won’t act erratic and keep hiking interest rates so much that it threatens our belief and trust in real estate values historically rising. And then we need to know that we can trust the safety and security of the banking system and the global economic system at large. Only when we trust and feel safe & comfortable can most of us buy and sell real estate; the world needs to reliably work before we feel comfortable to fully participate and engage in it in a big way.
As a person who seeks happily ever after, and who habitually sees life through rose colored glasses, I’m legitimately seeing sellers sitting on houses with a lot of equity + very low interest rates they can very easily afford, buyers showing proof of funds all cash, buyers moving to our area for lucrative new jobs, and sellers buying second homes and renting out their first. My optimistic prediction is that we’re still seeing the fall-out of Covid and the government’s emergency response to it, but it will all settle in time and we’ll come out stronger.
Our community is overcome with shock and sadness at the untimely passing of Dr. Julian Mirman, who was suddenly killed by a car, walking as a pedestrian. As a person who loved my mother with all my heart and soul, I know firsthand the monster irreparable loss that happens when an extraordinary person is suddenly gone. I’m so sad for my friend, Linda, and the remarkable family Linda and Julian raised. At the very emotional funeral, a son-in-law said that he can’t fathom life without his father in law because Dad was his biggest supporter + source of encouragement, and every time he hung up after speaking to Dad, he felt so good. I think more noteworthy than being an accomplished doctor, raising a whole family of successful kids, and being a major contributor to the community, is taking the time to regularly speak to loved ones in a way that makes them feel so good. If we can speak to our loved ones consistently in a way that makes them feel so good, then like Dr. Mirman we too will be sorely missed and fondly remembered with so much admiration forever and ever.
Wishing all a productive week ahead.
Xoxoxo,
Sheri
