We had Bridger’s football party last week, and it had some good cake. He and I are doing CrossFit together, working on his noodle arms is fun. We’re getting ready to bring in the new year with good health.
That reminds me, I’m vamping up my podcast addiction again, listening to Darren Hardy, who wrote the book Compound Effect. 5-star review, FYI (from me). Here’s what he said yesterday on his Darren Daily show regarding New Year’s resolutions: think about the things you’re going to say no to. This one decision can make your life easier all year long because you won't have to even think about what to do in certain circumstances because you already made the decision in advance. Why waste any more time thinking about it?!
Examples: No to eating after 7 pm, what work meetings will I say no to? No to sugar, alcohol, or placating to the children. You get the idea. I like it; I’m trying to choose my no very wisely.
I’m saying yes, however, to my dear client turned friend who invited me on a safari! I mean, whaaattt? So, this is happening in February in South Africa, and I’m incredibly excited. It’s just the two of us, and if my prediction is accurate, it’s gonna be quite the experience. Lions and all that good stuff.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and we’re hosting a few families. I can’t wait. I got the turkey today, and it looks yummy. We have Christmas in the books, too. My mom is coming out, and we’re going to fondu in Breckenridge with some friends. I’m looking forward to that. Fondu is always fun and makes for great stories afterward based on Tag’s lactose intolerance.
My brother and my dad will be coming over in January too. So, there are loads of fun events on the horizon.
I did have a little health scare after getting some tests because of a sore calf. My doctor thought I had rheumatoid arthritis so I’ve had some tests done, and I do not have it, so that’s stellar. But I still have more testing to check on the creatine in my blood. As long as I’m up and running for some safari’ing, I’m cool.
I hope Thanksgiving is fabulous for all of you! Here’s to lots of laughs and memory-making! And a quick shoutout to the Minnesota Vikings because my friend loves them, and they’re playing this year on Turkey Day, and we’re all really rooting for them. Go Vikings!
My Real Estate Status
We closed on West Ranch, the $1.6M house, and then had an excellent dinner with the buyer’s agent, the buyers, and the sellers (with all our significant others). It was such a lovely evening. The transaction went so well with the buyer and seller; they’ve even been hanging out. That’s not the norm. They went hiking together. I think it’ll be an ongoing friendship, which kinda gives me goosebumps.
We had a house appraised recently, and oddly, there’s a door from the kitchen that leads literally nowhere except to a 4-foot drop outside. The appraiser said a staircase needs to be put in to avoid catastrophe. The seller is down to move forward with that, and we should close next week.
So, yep, work is good.
What a Recession Could Mean for the Housing Market
Current Denver Area Real Estate Market
As we head into the holidays we expect a purge of withdrawn and expired listings as sellers pull their home from market to enjoy time with family. This purge of listings is imperative to drive inventory down and to help kickstart our New Year heading into 2023. With the help of fewer new listings entering the market inventory is beginning to drop. This week we saw a 9.9% increase in the number of expired listings and an 18.7% decline in new listings from the week prior. Active inventory is now sitting at about 6,670 heading into this weekend. Month's supply of inventory dropped from 2.2 months to 2.0 months of inventory.
In fact, month's supply of inventory dropped at all price tiers with the exception of the $1,500,000-2,000,000 price range. Things have really started to cool down here with demand slowing way down driving our months of inventory in this price range up to 6.4 months of inventory. This is up from 5.9 months last week and up significantly from 2 weeks ago where it had been hovering around 3.9 months of inventory. Buyers will have continued negotiating power in this price range if demand doesn't pick up or supply doesn't go down. It's a great weekend to get your buyers out there as showings typically drop over Thanksgiving weekend by 50%.
Escrow Shortage: What is it? How does it happen? How do I fix it?
If you've owned a home for a year or longer, there's a good chance your taxes and/or insurance premiums increased during that time, and you're faced with an escrow shortage. First, let's talk about what it is and how it happens. At closing, the mortgage company collects an upfront amount to cover these items and monthly as part of your payment. If there's no change in your tax or insurance amount within the year or the following year, you'll have enough in your escrow account to pay the following year's tax and insurance bill. However, suppose you change insurance companies during the year, increase your insurance premium( Ex. adding a jewelry rider or something similar to your policy), or property taxes come in higher than estimated. In any of these examples, you'll be facing an escrow shortage. When you switch insurance companies, you commonly receive a refund from your previous insurance company. Always deposit the refund check into your existing mortgage escrow account to avoid a significant shortage at year-end. Your escrow account is only analyzed 1x per year, which is why it won't recognize changes throughout the year. When your mortgage company realizes there isn't enough money in the escrow account to pay these variances, they'll pay the difference on your behalf and collect the money from you afterward. I suggest paying this amount in full to help keep the payment down. However, if it's more convenient, your mortgage company will allow you to split the difference over 12 months. Taxes and insurance going up aren't always bad, as they also signal growth in our home values over the years.
Please reach out to me if I can help!
Upcoming Events
- THANKSGIVING POTLUCK!- The Well invites you and yours to gather for Thanksgiving goodness, don’t forget to bring a side or a dessert and your appetite, of course.
- The Turkey Day 5k- Start the holiday season off with some exercise before you gobble up the Thanksgiving goodies!
- Post-Thanksgiving Late Morning Hike: Red Rocks!- Join others feeling the Thanksgiving Day comedown and work off Gramma Sallie’s triple-buttered potatoes.
- Santa Breakfast- Yes, at 11:59:99 on Thanksgiving night, it’s officially .01 second till Santa season! Food, fun, crafts- does it get any better?
- Pet Nights with Santa- Your fur babies deserve some Santa love, too! Get dolled up and head out to Southwest Plaza for a pawesome time!
