Happy Fall. My favorite time of yearā¦there is no question that weāre absolutely blessed to
beliving where we do, in beautiful, sunny Southern California, especially this time of year.
We are blessed also that we are not enduring the terrible pain and suffering of those in the
Carolinas, still reeling from the damaging floods. Our hearts and prayers go out to them in t
he South East.
As we enter the final quarter of 2018, we continue to see a strong economy, with unemployment at
record lows and while interest rates were hiked by .025% by the Federal Reserve last week, it was expected and economists (and the market) are not panicking, saying the economy is in good shape. So much so, the new Fed position is that the economy can āforge ahead on its own with less help from the monetary side.ā The Fed rate increased for the third time this year, and the eighth in the current hiking cycle, which began in 2015, and it is expected to be increased again. While the rate has been increased we all need to remember that rates are still quite low.
On the real estate front, we are also continuing to see price increases with inventory increasing as well. The numbers for sales from July, show an increase also. The activity at open houses has increased with the major difference I can see is that buyers are a little more cautious perhaps taking time to make those all-important offers. There is still a great deal of all cash transactions being made, as well as that ever-popular bankā¦. Bank of Mom & Dad.
What is going on in your part of Brentwood from a real estate perspective? Lots! It is amazing and exciting to see the differences between the 3rd quarter of last year, vs. this past quarter. Currently there are 9 homes for sale, vs. 3 last year, one of which was land. There are 3 homes in escrow, with only 1 last year, and as for closed escrows there were 5 properties, one of which land, and last year there were also 5, but they all were homes. One of the biggest bugaboos here in our fabulous community is still the traffic. It doesnāt seem that is going to be resolved any time soon. Guess that is the price we pay for living and working in wonderful Brentwood. If you find yourself in the position of assisting some in need of real estate service, or you want some advice for yourself on the purchase or sale of your home, please do not hesitate to give me a call. Also, please check out my app. carole schiffer. It is easy to get to.. just go to your local, friendly app store, type in carole schiffer, and Voila, there you go.
You might already know about the public hearing set for Tues the 9th of Oct at 7:00 pm at Skirball for the development of a public part in Mission Canyon, which is just a short, very short hop, skip & a jump from Mountaingate Road. You might want to go and make your voice & feelings heard!
