Goldman Sachs predicts V-recovery, stimulus package
Analysts from Goldman Sachs are predicting that economic growth will rebound more strongly than expected in the second quarter of 2021, despite projected GDP losses in the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021 caused by a resurgence of the virus in the United States and Europe.

According to their report issued last week, just as the global economy rebounded quickly (albeit partially) from the lockdowns in the spring, Goldman expects the current weakness to give way to much stronger growth when the European lockdowns end and a vaccine becomes available.

Goldman is now predicting a global GDP loss of 3.9% in 2020—driven by a major contraction in the European economy in the fourth quarter— and a bump of 6% in 2021. That indicates a V-shaped recovery, under which the economy bounces back to its baseline levels (or better) after a crisis with minimal hiccups along the way. They are also predicting a stimulus package will be passed before Biden’s inauguration.
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Federal Reserve commits to full range of tools
In their November 5 meeting, the Federal Reserve stated it is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals.

The Fed recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world. Economic activity and employment have continued to recover but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year. Weaker demand and earlier declines in oil prices have been holding down consumer price inflation. Overall financial conditions remain accommodative, in part reflecting policy measures to support the economy and the flow of credit to U.S. households and businesses.

The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus. The ongoing public health crisis will continue to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term.

The Fed Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2% over the longer run. With inflation running persistently below this longer-run goal, the Committee will aim to achieve inflation moderately above 2% percent for some time so that inflation averages 2% over time and longer-term inflation expectations remain well anchored at 2%.
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Median sales prices continue upward
It is no surprise that demand for high-quality housing continues to push prices up on the Westside, even though sales volumes have leveled off through the first 10 months of 2020.

In the five communities I report on — Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Bel-Air/Holmby Hills, Westwood/Century City, and Brentwood, median sales prices were up by stronger margins than last month with Brentwood holding even with last year through October (no change). Beverly Hills led the way in median sales price increases with a 12% gain over last year, with an MSP of $6.475 million. The Westwood/Century City MSP was up 10% over last year at $2.411 million; Beverly Hills Post Office was up 5% at $3.000 million; and Bel-Air/Holmby Hills was next at $2.331, up 4%. Pacific Palisades, one of the communities I also cover, was up 10% over 2019 at $3.345 million.

What we are seeing across the board is a market that remains “hot”— lots of buyers who are seeking a quality lifestyle in attractive, safe and, well-managed cities and neighborhoods. During this pandemic, I am seeing buyers looking for security, calm, protected areas that offer good schools and appealing local amenities. We have all that right here…and our reputation has spread worldwide. Another measurement of our appeal is that homes are selling for an average of 93% of the original listing price, up substantially from this past summer. Once again, there are some outstanding high-priced sales that skew the numbers and percentages, and as my numbers are from the Multiple Listing Service only, any private sales are also not factored into these numbers.
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Sales volume lags…still over $3 billion
Sales have been a mixed bag for 2020…volumes have hovered below last year’s record sales from 6% to 10% each month compared to what we saw for the first 10 months in 2019. In analyzing the data from 2019, there were block-buster sales that pushed these five communities to new sales records, but we have now turned the corner for high-end sales (see below).

Sales volume for these five communities through October were $3.070 billion vs. $3.417 billion through same period in 2019. That is a 10% drop. The biggest decline in sales volumes for the year is in Bel-Air/Holmby Hills, down $301 million from 2019, followed by Beverly Hills, down $175 million.

Westwood/Century City was down $38 million, and Bentwood was off by $54 million. The good news is that Beverly Hills Post Office was up $232 million through October. Pacific Palisades has had a great year with sales up 10% with sales of $800 million for 2020.
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Buyers seek ‘multi-generational’ homes
The coronavirus pandemic has initiated several shifts in America’s housing market over the past eight months. Changes in the behaviors of home buyers and sellers were especially notable as buyers’ usual tendencies altered, and the urgency to sell accelerated.

This is according to new data from the National Association of Realtors’ 2020 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, a yearly report which discusses demographics, preferences and experiences of buyers and sellers across America.

Those who completed their transaction after March were more likely to purchase a multi-generational home. Multigenerational home purchases accounted for 15% of sales after March, compared to 11% for those who closed before April.

In light of stay-at-home orders instituted within the early weeks of the pandemic, 14% of buyers who bought after March said their transactions were delayed because of COVID-19. The report went on to say that buyers sought housing with more rooms, more square footage, and more yard space, as they may have desired a home office or home gym.

The NAR report also noted they shopped for larger homes because extra space would allow households to better accommodate older adult relatives or young adults that are now living within the residence. As an example, one of my clients whose son attends school in San Diego, just moved back into his apartment there after living at home for the past 9 months.
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Pandemic revs up expensive homes market
The pandemic is revving up the market for expensive homes where many people are spending far more time, luring wealthy buyers, and nudging more sales over the half-million-dollar mark from Northern California to the New York City suburbs.

Nationally, nearly one in four home buyers between April and June bought houses priced at $500,000 or more, up from 14% of buyers during the preceding nine months, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.

…And we are moving ahead in high-end sales on the Westside…. while we are seeing increases in expensive homes across the country, our high-end sales for all of the Westside from Beverly Hills to Malibu, is ahead of last year. The number of closed sales of $5 million-plus are 550 vs. 456 this time last year, up 21%. Of those, 150 were $10 million-plus vs. 134 last year. In the $20 million-plus range, we had 45 sales close escrow vs 39 in 2019 at this time.

We are down slightly in the $30 to $40 million-plus range by 12%, and the reason sales volume has decreased so much this year in the communities I report on is that we have not seen the sales in the $40 million-plus homes, which are off by 40%. So, there you have it — we’re up, were down, but overall, we are trending up in prices and sales in our higher priced homes. We have seen some block buster sales this year, and the same holds true for Orange County.
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Second-home markets heat up, too
You would not know we are in a pandemic at times…. the housing market is booming across the United States, especially in second-home markets. Resort towns especially have become ‘hot’ because they provide vacation-style living, and many buyers are staying put year-round. For some, their primary home has become their second home now. When so many of us are working out of our homes, it has been become easier to work from our second homes.

According to the National Association of Realtors, homes are selling much quicker than they did a year ago, and sales of resort and second homes are no different. In September, 68% of vacation homes sold in less than a month, according to the Realtors’ Confidence Index Survey.

Historically, about 30% sell that quickly and the report noted that it is pretty amazing to see this uptick compared to past years. Sales of resort and second homes accounted for 6.3% of overall home sales in the third quarter, up from about 4.5% in the second quarter, according to the Confidence Index.
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New law gives many chances to buy foreclosed homes Come January 1
A new law will enable individuals, non-profits, and governments a chance to buy foreclosed homes before investors can scoop them up.

In a recent Los Angeles Times review, during the last financial crisis, millions of Americans lost their homes to foreclosure, and many of those houses were scooped up by investors — large and small — to flip or rent out. Wall Street became a major player, with large firms creating subsidiaries that snapped up tens of thousands of single-family homes to rent out and became landlords.

In California, where housing costs are sky high, many low-income community groups see investors as a negative force. They say companies crowded out traditional home buyers in the wake of the Great Recession when housing was relatively affordable and are more willing to raise rents and evict tenants than mom-and-pop landlords

Here’s the new law: The new rules apply to one- to four-unit properties sold at foreclosure auctions. If an investor wins one of those homes at auction, then people who want to live in it, as well as nonprofit organizations and government entities, have 45 days to submit competing offers. If the home is a rental, the tenants living there could prevail by matching the investor’s offer. Other would-be buyers must offer more than the investor.
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Hard to believe the holidays are upon us
Thanksgiving is a little more than a week away, and while it might be difficult to think of giving thanks given the year we have been experiencing, it is important for us to stop and take stock of all that we have.

Losing my Mom continues to be difficult for me, particularly as she was such an integral part of my life, but I am so VERY grateful for having her in my life for as long as I did and for the continuous feedback I get from those who knew her telling me how very special she was.

I am also grateful for the improved relationship I have with my sister and her family, and the knowledge that we are there for each other. My gratitude also extends for my health. A very special Thank You to all of my friends, family, and clients for everything you are and bring to my life.

As an ode to this year and what may be the anthem for all of us, I am including a link on You Tube.com to a song that I love hearing particularly this time of year. It is from Gloria Gaynor and the song “I Will Survive” sung by a turkey. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jGOc0P5DEI

I am also grateful to those of you who participated in my Halloween contest. Seeing the entries was fun. Be on the lookout for my next contest which will be launched in the next week or so.

In the meantime, life goes on and I would love to hear from you as to how I can assist you with your real estate needs. I will be very grateful and thanks for this as well. Just a reminder the real estate market goes on during the holidays, and in fact because some buyers and sellers sit on the side lines, it can be a great time to buy or sell a house as there may be less competition.

Housing market — one of economy’s bright spots!
During this pandemic, now nearing eight months, the U.S. housing market has become one of our economy’s bright spots. Home sales rose to a new 14-year high in September, bolstered by robust demand and a shortage of homes for sale that is making the housing market one of the brightest spots for the U.S. economy.

Existing-home sales rose 9.4% in September from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million, the highest rate since May 2006, the National Association of Realtors said last week. The September sales marked a 20.9% increase from a year earlier.

The latest figures for existing-home sales, which make up most of the housing market, marked the fourth straight monthly increase and one of the best stretches for the housing market in years.

Real-estate agents and economists credit the strong demand for housing to record-low interest rates, a large population of millennials entering home-buying years and a desire for more household space driven by the coronavirus pandemic. As many people work and attend school from home, home shoppers are willing to move farther from their offices in exchange for bigger houses with more outdoor space.

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Home price growth accelerates in August
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices in major metropolitan areas across the nation, rose 5.7% in the year that ended in August, up from a 4.8% annual rate the prior month.

Sales of previously owned homes, which make up the bulk of the housing market, rose 2% in August from a month earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors, as low mortgage-interest rates and a desire for more space lured buyers into the market. A shortage of homes for sale has led to competition among buyers and pushed home prices higher.

“Current home price growth is exceptionally strong given that the U.S. is an economic recession,” said Selma Hepp, deputy chief economist at housing-data provider CoreLogic. “It is the historically low inventories and record-low mortgage rates that are outweighing economic and employment headwinds and fueling the price acceleration.

The Case-Shiller 10-city index gained 4.7% over the year ended in August, compared with a 3.5% increase in July. The 20-city index rose 5.2%, after an annual gain of 4.1% in July. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected the 20-city index to gain 4.3%.

The 20-city index only measured 19 cities in August due to transaction reporting delays in Wayne County, Mich., according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Price growth accelerated in all of the 19 cities.

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Homeownership rose in third quarter
Here is some more good news — the Commerce Department reported that the homeownership rate rose to 67.4% in the third quarter, up from 64.8% a year earlier but down from 67.9% in the second quarter. The second quarter was accentuated by the start of the pandemic, which threw the housing market into a tailspin.

The department said that its data collection was affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and its survey response rates declined from last year, which could affect the accuracy of its second- and third-quarter estimates.

With low mortgage rates, the housing market is going through an unparalleled period of ups/downs, as we are seeing on the Westside. We’re seeing an increase in sales in the lower price categories, driven by these low rates, but our total sales volumes have lagged behind last year at this time.|

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What will homes be worth in 2030? California leads list
Homeowners are watching their home values climb significantly this year, and prices are expected to continue to appreciate over the next decade. The National Association of Realtors reported that the median existing-home price for all housing types in September was $311,800, a 14.8% increase compared to a year ago.

But how high are prices poised to go over the next decade? A new study shows that home prices in the U.S. have increased by nearly 49% in the past 10 years. If they continue to climb at similar rates over the next decade, U.S. homes could average $382,000 by 2030, according to a new study from Renofi, a home renovation loan resource.

To estimate property prices in 2030, Renofi analyzed the average price in every state and the 50 largest cities, comparing them from September 2010 to September 2020.
California leads the list for valuation projected for September 2030 at $1,048,100, with Hawaii next at $899,627, followed by Washington – $782,708. West Virginia is last at $128,415.
Four out of the top five cities are from California — San Francisco leads with $2,612,484, with San Jose next at $2,251,703, Oakland, $1,713,554, Seattle at $1,540,583 and Los Angeles, at fifth place is at $1,375,638.

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Renters Beware!
What the pandemic provided for many home and apartment renters — is refuge from monthly payments. For those who opted to forgo their rent payments, the day of reckoning will eventually come. A housing crisis centered on the vast apartment and home-rental markets is emerging in the U.S., threatening to send millions of renters into eviction and leave landlords short billions of dollars.

A large number of renters have been unable to pay some or even all of their rent since March, when the pandemic temporarily shut down most businesses. Many businesses remain closed or only partially open, pushing renters into unemployment and draining their savings.

Federal and local eviction moratoriums have protected many of them from losing their homes if they missed payments during the pandemic. But the national eviction ban and some state and city protections are set to expire by January or sooner. Renters will be on the hook for months of missed payments, which even those who have jobs could struggle to pay.

Estimates of total outstanding rent debt vary widely. Yet by any measure, the fallout from missed rent payments could imperil a large swath of the U.S. population and wash over broader segments of the economy.

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Urbanites haven’t given up on ‘urban’…..
While you are reading about ’thousands moving out of the city to suburbia’ or beyond (like in ‘rural’), it is true: There have been many fed up with the congestion, closed in society and lockdowns. But confirmed urbanites are resilient and getting creative. For example, urban buyers are looking for different amenities in light of the pandemic. Clients are looking for small rooms, formerly known as a maid’s room, which have suddenly come back.

These rooms, like smaller extra bedrooms, are becoming the ’new work zones for family members. Flat desk, bookshelves, Internet connection, printer, and voila — you have your own special workspace. Working from home has caused these ‘pop-up’ work areas, springing forth from existing home space.Urbanites are also upgrading rooms for ‘fitness’ and exercise training. Getting your steps to/from the office isn’t working anymore, so urbanites are buying treadmills or other high-tech machines that transform your mind and body at the same time.

Large…and I mean large…video screens/walls. Large screen TVs are flying out the door of retailers. Home theaters have taken over wall space since movie theaters are closed and going out of business. No worries…Netflix, Apple+, or Disney+ make it all so quite easy to stay comfy at home.

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Saving your sanity in small places…
Missing your spacious office? This pandemic is forcing many of us to ‘adapt’ to this remote working concept. Working from home has plenty of pros—wearing your fuzzy slippers and spending quality time with your pooch are among them. But big challenges can arise from small spaces when you don’t have adequate elbow room to get your work done effectively. How can you survive with your performance and sanity intact? Consider your mindset, your communication, and some basic survival skills.

For example, getting the right “mindset” is your first priority. You’re not in your spacious office — far from it, so adjusting your thinking to this new, ‘homey’ environment is a must. And one of the most important elements of your mindset is ‘empathy’ — consider what your roommate or family is going through, too. We’re all in the same boat.

Be flexible — one must adapt to new challenges such as outside (or inside) distractions, like kids, sound disruptions (TV, music), and, yes, the refrigerator. Also, planning is a must…plan ahead more because now you have a home calendar merged with a work calendar…be disciplined. It’s easy to just ‘wander’.

Communication with others is key. Set up ground rules, boundaries on what is permitted during shared work times. Be respectful of others as they should be to you as well. And of course, there are basics — like Internet usage (do you have enough speed/capacity…is wi-fi working where it needs to be?) Most importantly — you and your family’s well being. Keeping in shape, have agreed-on break times, learn to anticipate, and yes, have some fun times, too. In the end, your sanity (and those around you) is so important…especially during these stressful times.

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Recycling – unused or old medicine in particular
have long shared with you the information on recycling residential special materials (paint and solvents, automotive materials, among other things), and electronic waste. On Saturday, I discovered that we can also take those meds to the S.A.F.E Collection Center at UCLA

For weeks I have been carrying around a plastic bag filled with unused meds from my Mom not knowing where to bring them and to safely dispose them. I had been told the pharmacy at the UCLA Medical Center took them but every time I went there it was closed. Now we can take them along with the e waste any time the Collection Center is open (the Collection Center only takes e waste on Saturday. For specific information as to what they will and will not take, please give them a call.

Their information is: UCLA Safe Collection Center, 550 Charles E Young, West (along fraternity row on the west side of campus) on Thursday, Friday & Saturday – 8:00 am – 2:00 pm, 1-800-988-6342. It is all easy – peasy!. you must put everything in the trunk of your car, wear your mask, and they will take what you have out of the trunk. Be specific as to what you want them to take, one time I had some bags of things I had just purchased in the trunk and they took those too, fortunately I was able to get them back! .I always drive away feeling like I have done my good deed for the day. Done!

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Keeping up to date
I have a number of listings both for sales & lease coming up in the next few weeks. For a varied number of reasons, we are not ready yet. The properties are located in Bel Air Crest, Mountaingate and Beverlywood. I will be sure to let you know when they are on the market.

Be sure to watch for the winners for my on-line Halloween Contest. All of the carved pumpkins are amazing. If you want to participate in my next on-line ONLY contest which will be in the next month or so, I will need your email address.

For those of you who have been following the situation with the proposed construction of the Berggruen Institute. In a lawsuit filled by the Mountaingate Open Space Association along with the other homeowner organizations, Berggruen suffered a defeat for their proposal in a California Court on the 13th of October. The fight will continue. Stay tuned for more updates as they come along.

Just learned from a reliable source that come Jan 1, Stoney Hill security will be merging into Crest Promontory and that those residents will be writing 3 checks rather than 4 as the have been doing and that The Vista residents will be paying for their security through their MOSMA dues.

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Please reach out to me for all of your real estate needs. I AM HERE FOR YOU

Stay safe and if you have not already done so, VOTE… EVERY VOTE COUNT

Carole Schiffer, Realtor Coldwell-Banker Residential Brokerage/Brentwood Office 310-442-1384 (office) or e-mail me at carole@caroleschiffer.com www.caroleschiffer.com
CalBRE 00677619
©2020 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC 234567An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC

Happy Halloween…
As a kid growing up in West Los Angeles, Halloween was always a big treat for me and my sister. However, things have changed for us all during this pandemic. What to do about it? State officials are advising Californians to skip trick-or-treating, although they have stopped short of prohibiting the activity. In addition to actually closing some streets, the City of Beverly Hills has banned trick or treating, and has attached fines for any violations. Everyone is promoting ‘virtual costume contests’ and pumpkin carving more online. It is also recommended families go on a walk wearing their costumes. Halloween is the #2 retail sales event of the year, and stores are reporting record candy sales — “kids are home and want more, not less!”. If you do decide to hand out “goodies just leave your front porch light on, and if not just leave your front porch light off. In any event, I wish all of you a Happy Halloween! Stay safe.

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The more things change, well, you know….
Don’t get discouraged by seeing what appears to be more of the same this month as it was the last month and the month before. Median sales prices in all of the communities I report each month are all in the positive territory, not by much, a trend we have been experiencing lately. Depending on the area and price point, ales are still lagging. Beverly Hills’s median sales prices were up just 1% through the first nine months of 2020 at $6.265 million. Beverly Hills Post Office was up to $3.975 million or 8% for same period. Bel-Air/Holmby Hills was up 7% at $2.338 million through September. Westwood/Century City was up the highest at 12% or $2.442 million, and Brentwood was up just 2% at $3.350 million for the same period last year. Santa Monica was nearly even at $2.690 million for the nine-month period. The point is — we are holding our own on prices in a very volatile, economic environment.

Median sales prices for September compared to 2019 September were more up/down — Beverly Hills was down 30% from this September vs. September 2019 by 30%, Westwood/Century City was down 23%, and Brentwood was down 31%. However, Beverly Hills Post Office was up by 8% and Bel-Air/Holmby Hills was up 19%.

It’s not the monthly jumps or declines that really matter in our high-priced, high-volume market — these ups/downs happen every month. The only reliable trend # you can count on is “year-to-date” median sales prices. But even these numbers can be misleading as they are not the typical “average”; these are median #s, meaning half of the homes sold are above the median list price and half below it. You can have a home selling for over $50 million in our market, and it only counts as one home above the median-list priced home.

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Sales volume hangs under last year’s standard
While prices remain just above last year’s at Fall comes, our sales volume continues to lag behind. Since January, sales volume for the five communities I report on was $2.740 billion versus $2.944 billion a year ago. That’s a drop of $204 million, with Beverly Hills down $122 million in total sales since January 1…Brentwood was down $100 million, and Westwood/Century City was down $68 million. Only Beverly Hills Post Office was up by a strong performance of $240 million plus, and Santa Monica was up $60 million.

There were some large sales recorded in September — Beverly Hills Post Office had sales of $36, $17, and $14 million, while Bel-Air/Holmby Hills had two sales— $17 and $13 million (this does not include the purchase of a home in Beverly Park by LeBron James for $38,000,000) . I will have more on high-end sales in my November 1 SchifferLine. As I reported in August, the Fall season is running contrary to past trends — sales are being made and I expect this selling trend to continue while low mortgage rates exist, at least through the end of the year.

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What you do not see in these numbers is what is actually happening now on the street and in our office. All sales recorded as closed escrows were completed in September but began months before that. Average Days on Market is 51 days for the sales reported in September — so you can see there is always some lag between the actual sale and when it records or closes escrow.

There are lots of buyers out there, and I am busy with new clients — inventory is the challenge we have been dealing with for a while, only more so, which is attributable to many factors, the most serious one, of course, is Covid-19 and how it has affected all of us in our normal pursuits and transitions.

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Real estate is the ’shining light’…. yes, it’s true
Sales data and financial numbers are bearing down on us daily, sometimes making it difficult to understand how our real estate industry is doing. But despite the pandemic and all of the heartache and trouble it has caused, the housing market continues to bring out buyers. For example, the Case Shiller Index — one of our leading real estate barometers — showed we had month-on-month gains in all major cities except New York, which was caused by business bankruptcies which rose by 40% since the pandemic hit. This will continue to play out, especially in California which has experienced lockdowns in key economic centers such as Los Angeles and San Francisco counties.

Another key component to looking at the big picture is that the Consumer Confidence Index jumped to 101.8 in September from 86.3 in August. That is a massive jump, with that number is still below the 132.6 handle we saw in February before the pandemic hit. And the Present Situation Index (yes there is one) …which measures how we are feeling about the economy today, rose from 86.8 to 98.5, even though it is markedly lower than before the pandemic.

All of this is great news to cheer up those of who depend on the real estate industry — helping so many families buying and selling their homes!

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Mortgage rates — how low is low?
As you know, mortgage rates have been resting near historic lows for the last month, and borrowers are wondering, will they go lower? Should I wait for even lower rates? It is a mixed bag!

First of all, some of the volatility we have seen in the market has pushed some money back into bonds and away from stocks according to a loan expert. This bond market trend has kept mortgage rates low and supported the market for both new and existing home sales.

Second, the Federal Reserve has committed to a policy of keeping short-term interest rates low, likely until 2024. Essentially, inflation has been on the weak side, which doesn’t help the economy because people aren’t motivated to buy now. Short-term rates are correlated with the longer-term rates for things like mortgages. Because there are issues with costs related to Covid-19 that go into effect in December by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the issue of additional costs may be a factor in future rates.

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Pending home sales soar in August
More good news! The National Association of Realtors’ Pending home sales skyrocketed 8.8% between July and August, another massive jump after the spring standstill caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Contract signings rose 24.2% year over year, according to data released last week by the NAR. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator of future sales based on contract signings, is currently at 132.8, the highest it’s been all year and, in many cases, outperforming pre-pandemic averages.

The rise in pending sales, which has been consistent throughout the summer, can be attributed to the pent-up demand brought about by the standstill observed when the coronavirus pandemic first broke out as well as the low interest rates that have allowed some buyers to jump on a purchase.

All four regions in the U.S. saw increases in contract signings. At 13.1%, the West experienced the biggest increase, up 23.6% from the same period last year. The Midwest, the South and the Northeast saw increases of 8.6%, 8.6% and 4.3% percent, respectively.

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Stucco has become the most popular exterior…really!
Expect to see a greater mix of stucco, vinyl, and fiber cement siding as you travel around new-construction neighborhoods. Twenty-seven % of new single-family homes in 2019 used stucco as their siding material, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction.

Vinyl siding was the second-most common option, at 25%, followed by fiber cement siding (such as Hardie Plank or Hardie Board) at 21%. Only about 5% of new homes last year used wood or wood products, and 1% were clad in stone, rock, or other stone materials.

Stucco was the most commonly used siding material on new homes in the Pacific, Mountain, and South Atlantic regions last year. Fifty-seven % of new builds in the Pacific region, which includes California, Washington, and Oregon, used stucco, followed by 52% in the Mountain region and 38% in the South Atlantic region!

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Majority of young adults…now living with parents. Surprised? No.
It’s no surprise: The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted millions of young adults to move back in with their parents since the spring. The majority of 18-to-29-year-olds now live with their parents, surpassing the previous peak during the Great Depression, the Pew Research Center reports.

In July, 52% of 18-to-29-year-olds lived with one or both of their parents, up from 47% in February, according to the analysis. That places the number of young adults living with their parents at 26.6 million.

The number of young adults moving back home is evident across genders, racial and ethnic groups, and both metro and rural areas, researchers found. However, increases were most pronounced among the youngest adults (18 to 24 years old) and for young white adults.

Prior to 2020, the highest number of young adults living at home was recorded in 1940, at the end of the Great Depression, when 48% of young adults lived with their parents. There is no data prior to that reflecting the worst of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

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How am I doing?
I must admit, I am still having a hard time dealing with the loss of my Mom this summer. I know it will get better in time, but it is little things that continue to come up that make it difficult. Thank you to all of you who continue to check on me to see how I am doing.

As for business, I am busy.. Working with new and returning clients, looking in some cases for those elusive properties that are just what they are looking for. Wee keep trying and know we will find it, just have to keep on trucking! Also, the Zoom meetings and classes keep me on my toes!

They are in the process of remodeling my Coldwell Banker office so for the time being both my Assistant Antoine and I are working out of my house in the smallest room in the house, makes for cozy working conditions, but it is also easy to work together.

In addition, I have been dealing with some plumbing issues at the house (no hot water for 3 -4 days!), replacing most of the flooring except the wood floors in the public rooms of the house, no land line on my phone for days on end, and other fun things to keep me up at night.

As I have mentioned, the real estate market continues to be fun and interesting and I love working with all of my clients and enjoy adding new ones, both buyers and sellers to the mix, so please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. I am here for you.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT

STAY SAFE