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Sadly, I received a call from a friend who recently lost her loving and devoted husband of 51 years now and needs a current real estate valuation for her exceptional family home. Known as a "stepped-up basis," evaluating a home for value involves a quick walk-thru of the house, a discerning eye, a deep-dive market analysis, and ultimately a REALTOR'S®/Appraiser's professional opinion. However, the time to get a "stepped-up basis" is limited. Consequently, the estate attorney's sage advice to act sooner, rather than later to establish a new base value is timely. . . and Sarah and I are more than happy to help.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, a "stepped-up basis" creates a new baseline value for a property, as opposed to the purchase price on the tax records, often from years ago. . .
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It's been an interesting year, to say the least, beginning with a rapidly escalating marketplace, only to end up with one that's clearly correcting.
Even so, Sarah and I are grateful for ALL the work that's come our way, whether it's been educating Sellers with respect to the changing dynamics, or helping Buyers secure homes at what's proven to be a much higher interest rate than the market delivered previously. We are here to be of service and to help navigate your next chapter. That's tougher to do when the results aren't nearly as jaw-dropping as they were the last few years when EVERYTHING sold in quick time, and often with multiple offers that pushed the final sales price well beyond anyone's expectations. "Unless we can get 'X' for our house, we're not gonna sell it," has been a repeating refrain on many of our listing appointments as of late.
Fair enough, it's your house, and you're the captain, but if "X" equates to last April's potential outcome HAD you sold the property in the spring of 2022, good luck achieving that unlikely, unrealistic, and ASPIRATIONAL expectation. In short: "that ship has sailed;" "that window has closed," and to be perfectly blunt, "you missed the boat." (Take your pick from any of these well-worn metaphors.) In other words, HINDSIGHT is 2020 . . . & 2021 & 2022! (See how I did that?) No sooner had we arrived at our cabin to celebrate Cliff's birthday last weekend, when Jill texted, "I think you have a problem at the house," (never an auspicious start) "there's water dripping down the fireplace in the apartment below. . . " (How can that be? There'd been no rain for months.)
By Sunday evening, the drip had turned into a much larger concern and when the plumber, Andrew, began to open the ceiling looking for the root cause, buckets of water literally poured down on him before hitting the floor (that's probably gonna cost me extra). With the market correcting, interest rates rising, and a potential recession looming, there's good reason to be spooked, but let's give these scary circumstances a break for the week, and celebrate those who joyfully decorate their pets, kids and houses, in spite of market events that keep a few of us awake at night . . . .
Happy 700 issues to me! More than 17 years ago, I started emailing an out-of-area Buyer about our local marketplace. He wanted to know what houses were coming, what was currently on the market, and what homes had just sold and for how much. After several weeks of analysis and aggregation, I figured my efforts were worthy of sharing more broadly; and so, The Piedmont Perspective was born, AND because I'm a gal who is known to have an opinion (or two), the essays quickly followed suit. (If only I had written 700 Seinfeld episodes).
"Why scare Buyers?" the email said. "I've worked on Wall Street for 25 years and markets correct . . . " (Yes they do.)
For the record, "scaring" Buyers or Sellers is never my intention (speaking honestly and openly with them is). Listen; everyone's entitled to their own opinion. In fact, I welcome friendly/courteous/respectful debate but if Realtors® (or stock brokers) had a crystal ball that could accurately project future market trends, there'd be NO debate, and this stuff would be easy (it's not). "The interest rates have gone way up," my Buyers said. "We're not sure we can afford Piedmont/Oakland/Berkeley anymore. . . "
I hear you. The higher cost of money is a tough nut to swallow. In all seriousness, if you feel your purchasing power has eroded significantly during the past few months, that's because it has. But for those Buyers choosing to sit it out on the assumption that the market is going to correct further still (it very well may), how's it going to feel when the Feds increase the rates again - as they are expected to do the next two times they meet - and suddenly, you can afford even less? "The 24" ovens you ordered are too small," Jill said over the phone, "the installer says they need to be 27" wide."
Ugh. Ironically, I'd denied the earlier shipment of a 30" double-oven the previous Saturday because that installer said "it was too large." At which point, Sarah and I jumped on the phone and started looking for 27" stainless-steel double-ovens that would be "just right." "Sorry, we're all sold out," we heard over and over again. "We can order you one but it won't arrive until late November." Thanks, but that's not gonna work. First, I want to start out this week's newsletter by thanking the families who showed up last week to meet new friends and fellowship with one another. More than 250 of you RSVP'd you'd be attending and with the addition of Movie Night in the Park, coupled with a perfect fall evening, we had a FANTASTIC turnout for "Newcomers Night" at the Community Center.
Along with ginormous charcuterie boards and sparkling water, the soft ice cream (with sprinkles) flowed nonstop until after 8:00pm, and there wasn't a leftover cracker or slice of cheese to be had (much to my son's dismay). All in all, it was a resounding success, thanks to the good intentions and efforts of more than a few caring folks, AND Sarah and I were pleased to underwrite this first-time ever "Newcomers Night." All in favor of making this an annual event, say "frosty please!" (We're game if you are.) |
AuthorJulie Gardner, has been writing The Perspective for 18 years and has published more than 670 essays on life and real estate. 
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