Greetings All,
EVERYTHING IS ENERGY.
I’ve understood this for a while now. Spiritual leaders, psychologists, self-improvement gurus and life coaches preach it. But, boy, it’s been rough this year keeping things positive, hasn’t it? Well, I encourage you to make a list of the Best Things about one of the Worst Years Ever. Here’s mine, and I’ll bet we intersect on some.
1) Early on, during the first days of lockdown, I made out a daily schedule, just so I wouldn’t be a total sloth. The schedule would start whenever I felt like waking up without an alarm clock. It would usually extend to a slow rise, coffee in bed, and some reading before I started the day. Glorious. I haven’t done it since May, but I may pick it up again, at least once a week.
2) Extended time with my wife Monica and boy Marco. Instead of ships passing each other daily, time at home led to more discussions and deeper connections.
3) More home-cooked meals. (Hint: not by me or Marco.) Yes, there were more dishes to wash (my job), and I wasn’t thrilled with $700-$1,000 grocery bills, but I convinced myself we were still saving on eating out. And I know we’re eating healthier. By the way, “healthier” doesn’t mean fewer calories.
4) More time to think about how we can do business more effectively and efficiently. When you’re in the thick of working on listings and escrows, the ball can drop on the business-building side of things.
5) Zoom and phone calls with people in my sphere: from family to friends to business partners to associates to clients to vendors. Zooming immediately reminded me of the futuristic movie, ROLLERBALL, when James Caan took calls on his giant TV. I’m also thankful for the option to turn the video OFF.
6) Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Spotify, Pandora, premium cable. This movie-goer sorely missed sitting in dark theaters with my tub of popcorn. But watching commercial-free entertainment at home is better than a stick in the eye.
7) A bit more thought given before just hopping in the car. Net effect: gas expenses and emissions down, fewer parking fee$, more walking, less traffic congestion.
8) Compass. From leadership to staff, our incredible company “flowed like water”, and kept us going during a very confusing, possibly worrisome time for both agents and clients. The very best companies don’t sit on their hands in a crisis. They assess, make some hard decisions, figure out a way, lay down a concrete plan and don’t waste time doing it. Compass has had its best year ever in 2020. Amazing.
Outside our house bubble:
1) A civil rights movement the likes of which we haven’t seen since the ’60s. Black Lives Matter. Period. Synergy means together we can be greater than the sum of our parts. A worthy goal to keep working toward.
2) A focus on the right to VOTE. Highest vote turnout in 120 years.
3) I won’t apologize for saying the presidential election turned out the way I wanted it to.
4) A focus on safety, a rise in social consciousness. Thinking of others has never been more pressing.
5) Things will never be the same. A new way to look at work environments – not everyone can or wants to work from home, but much of what we’ve grown used to is here to stay. Fewer parking spaces and altered traffic patterns to encourage walking, biking and eating outside…better get used to it, even in the big cities.
Some people I don’t want to stay six feet away from; some I do, and now I have a good excuse, haha.
To close, a whole lot of us were moved to consider what’s really important in our own lives, and for me accumulating more “things” is at the very bottom. Let the many lessons of 2020 linger and spur us on to a better future. That’s where I plan to let my energy flow.
Till next month – Stay healthy, safe and sane.
Derek & Natalie and Geneva
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by Patrick Carlisle, Market Analyst for Compass Bay Area
A Strange Year Begins Winding Down
Though the pandemic upended many normal seasonal trends this year, the market did begin its typical “holiday season” slowdown in November – however activity remained well above levels of last year. It is unknown how the latest Covid-19 circumstances may affect the market in December, which is usually by far the slowest month of the year.
More importantly, we hope you and your loved ones stay safe and well during this challenging holiday season.
This first chart tracks percentage changes in median house sales price since 1990. It is based upon the Q1 2000 price being indexed to 100: A reading of 50 signifies a median price half that in Q1 2000; 200 means the price has doubled since then. In early 1990, the SF median house price was about $300,000; it is currently running about $1,650,000.
Click the above image or here for to view the entire November report.
Tell us what you think! We’d love to hear from you.
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New Listings | Just Sold | Announcement
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The Story:
Meet Mark. Mark is an Associate Dean of Students at Stanford, avid sports fan, and now a first-time homeowner in San Francisco. Well familiar with the “team” concept, Mark entrusted us with his home search, as we drafted key people to help: a fantastic loan person, sharp escrow officer and the most reputable home inspectors, making his purchase experience go about as smoothly as possible till we crossed the goal line. GO, Mark!!!
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DID YOU KNOW? Is the garage the new e-tail package logistics center? Amazon is expanding its in-garage delivery program for Prime subscribers to 4,000 U.S. cities, up from 50 previously. It will also start delivering groceries from Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh inside customers’ garages. Is GARAGE REFRIGERATION the new Amenity-Du-Jour?
DID YOU KNOW? Sweeping tax reform is highly unlikely. Corporate taxes may go up a bit if packaged with Middle-class tax cuts. It is unlikely the SALT tax deduction limit will change as it is viewed by too many as a ‘break for the rich’.(…huh?). A $15,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit is possible. Much depends still on undecided senate races.
DID YOU KNOW? NAR Economist Lawrence Yun concluded that 2020 was a recession year, but in 2021 with the vaccine discovery and availability, it will be positive. The interest rate environment will continue to be low and inflation not really a problem. Mortgage rates should remain stable near 3% all the way through 2021. He predicted 2020 would end with a 20% increase in new home sales and a 3% increase in existing-home sales compared to 2019. In 2021, he expects new home sales to rise a whopping 23% and existing-home sales to rise 9%. After a 6% rise this year, he expects home prices will rise a more modest 3% in 2021.
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What is Proposition 19?
“Allows homeowners who are over 55, disabled, or wildfire/disaster victims to transfer primary residence’s tax base to replacement residence. Changes taxation
of family-property transfers. Establishes
fire protection services fund.”
Source: CA Voter Guide
Click here for the full read/more details.
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CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Quick Guide about Prop 19for a breakdown of the changes on tax breakdown portability, the impact on intergenerational transfers to children or grandchildren, when the law goes into effect, and more!
Click here to look at the guide
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Compass is not authorized and will not offer tax or legal advice on this matter. For more information on how Proposition 19 impacts you individually, please contact a qualified professional such as your tax preparer, Certified Public Accountant, or tax lawyer.
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With endless Bay Area holiday traditions either going virtual or cancelled altogether this year, we’re beyond thankful that Illuminate SF’s Festival of Light is still on to provide a safe, pandemic-friendly hint of festive normalcy.
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Index for Bay Area House Values Ticks Up, Condos Down
Having inched up an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in August, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index for single-family home values within the San Francisco Metropolitan Area – which includes the East Bay, North Bay and Peninsula – ticked up 1.0 percent in September for a year-over-gain of 6.0 percent in the local index.
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Aiming to prove that middle-aged dogs can learn new tricks, here’s a quick look at how we’ve adjusted to our current landscape for our selling clients. (Woof!)
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Visualizing your Upgrade:
Curious to know how Compass can transform a listing and improve its sale price?
Compass Lens uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to visualize the potential of your space! See exactly the difference working with us can make.
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Virtual Property Presentations:
Sticking with what we’ve always done, we’ll provide Professional Photography & Videography, including Matterport 3D home tours, and a dedicated property website which includes all of this within the site.
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Video Creator:
We’re able to make quick (10 seconds or less) videos of our listings with essential details to our social feeds.
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Create a virtual open house experience using standard video from our phone:
We can record a Home Tour – more informal than a professional video, we’ll walk the property and show it as we would in a traditional open house, pointing out all of the features, opening closets and cabinets, send to prospective buyers and their agents, and be available for questions.
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Facetime or Zoom conferencing in the property:
As above but on a live feed that is mutually scheduled with prospective buyers and their agents. Offers a personal experience and 1:1 questions are answered.
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Dynamic Digital Brochures:
Home features will come to life inside this dynamic, digital brochure while creating an immersive experience for even the most discerning of buyers. Pages will turn and videos will play while allowing us to capture real-time data and actionable insights from potential buyers.
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Mobile Listing Ads:
We’ll run geo-targeted mobile ad campaigns to reach buyers in the right place, at the right time. Now more than ever, buyers and sellers are spending most (if not all) of their time at home. We’ll create a geofence around the neighborhoods where you’d like your ads to be seen. These ads will appear in mobile apps and will re-target viewers on their desktops and laptops.
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All of this is designed to bring proper exposure to our wonderful listings, and encourage eager buyers to make safe, virtual visits before making safe, in-person visits.
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Since Compass launched in 2012, we’ve been simplifying the real estate process one community at a time. Today, we have more than 250+ offices extending from coast to coast.
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Please let us know if you or a friend/colleague needs a fantastic agent in an area other than San Francisco. Through our network we can make the connections and introductions and help to find a perfect fit.
If you like what you have received, we encourage you to share it with your friends and follow us on Facebook & Instagram.
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