Greetings, All!
Happy November, the month we give thanks in the presence of our friends and family and overeat, and when Americans around the country who rarely watch football watch football.
If you’re a traditionalist like me, wherever we happen to have Thanksgiving dinner, we usually go around the table and guests will offer up one or more things they’re thankful for. “My health”, “my wife/husband/child”, “my new job”, “being here with you all”.
I think the older I get, the older I am, haha. One on one, I’m interested in more profound answers. At this stage in my life, daily reflections are a habit. So as I sit here with you one on one, I’d like to ask you “What past hardship are you thankful for? What horrible, scary, terrible, uncomfortable, sad, intimidating, confusing, and or unforeseen experience did you experience that you’re grateful for today?
Depending on your answer, I may judge you to have had quite a wonderful life. Or I may become one of your newest, greatest admirers. Or, the commonalities shared will create a new bond between us. The thing is, no matter what the situation was, we came through it. And in most cases, we’re the better for it.
Some experiences, we’re still waiting to see that “silver lining”, wondering if it’ll ever make sense. I think sometimes it depends too on how hard you’re looking.
Arwin, our team’s Director of Marketing & Operations, is the breadwinner in his family. He had a corporate job that was taking a toll on his mental and physical health. “Leave a high-paying, stable job…are you crazy?” But by becoming a freelancer, he learned to be more resourceful, independent, and disciplined and it allowed him to manage his time efficiently and grow in a new way. And now he knows more about being a real estate agent than he ever thought he wanted to know, lol. (I don’t think he wants to become one.)
Natalie went through a recent challenge of her own, with the Russian River flood of 2019. With rains dumping for days, the river rises quite quickly, and for various reasons she and her husband John could not get up to their second home in time to clear out the lower level. Can you feel the anxiety? They sustained about 4.5 feet of water in the lower level of the house. Access to and from was tricky as the roads were flooded. Electrical outages, being red-tagged, and having to quickly deal with hauling everything they ever stored down there, took about 7 full days of hard labor to clean, muck, sanitize, dry, dump, and restore order to the house. What she’s grateful for in this experience is how they were able to assist their neighbors with various needs and have bonded with them ever since. Previously just occasional visitors and “city dwellers”, they now feel like such a part of their block and community in ways they don’t have in the city. These relationships continue to grow and thrive and it’s one of the many draws for their spending more time up there.
I think the experience also set them up to be able to endure the pandemic lockdown that happened shortly after.
Speaking of the pandemic, hoo boy, I’m positive the positives will continue to surface in our worlds with each passing day for years to come.
Now if I can only remember to “run into the storm like the buffalo do, and not away from it as the cows do”.
A warm, sincere Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Till next month – Stay healthy, safe, and sane.
~ Derek & Natalie, Mo, and Arwin
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Public service announcement:
We’ve been hearing, and experiencing ourselves, that property tax bills are late, sporadic, or not being received, at all. You are still required to pay them on time or there is a steep fee. Go HERE to look up your property by address or assessor parcel number and you may pay online.
We’ve been hearing, and experiencing ourselves, that property tax bills are late, sporadic, or not being received, at all. You are still required to pay them on time or there is a steep fee. Go HERE to look up your property by address or assessor parcel number and you may pay online.
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As the year begins to wind down and move into the mid-winter holidays, the market typically slows down as well.
The number of new listings declines, to finally plunge in December, with sales volume following one step behind.
Price reductions often jump, and some listings, especially of more expensive homes, are pulled off the market until the market wakes up in the new year.
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New Listings | Just Sold | Announcement
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Our heartfelt congratulations to our wonderful clients, Sanjay and Lisa, who realized a dream to have a City pied-à-terre.
Our search turned up a gorgeous two-level, top floor Pacific Heights condo, with a private view deck large enough to serve as an additional “room”. What a fabulous reason to come to San Francisco more often!
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* TWO articles on the same day on the same subject in the WSJ and Bloomberg: the concept of owning and living in two homes is gaining traction not just amongst billionaires, but also amongst the simply well-to-do. Deciding which is your “primary residence” is becoming a big issue for consumers….and the taxman! Is this group of “two homeowners” further exacerbating inventory shortages?
* Online searches for urban properties have surged with a 62% yearly increase in searches in areas with a population of over 1 million. Pageviews and web traffic are usually leading indicators of consumer interest and their eventual purchase decisions. What’s more, change-of-address data reveals that the exodus from urban centers has slowed considerably in recent months. (MARKETWATCH)
* The San Francisco Compass Cares team raised over $1,300 for wildfire relief during their 5K Run for 5 Years of Compass NorCal! Kudos to the San Francisco team for dreaming big to support communities affected by the California wildfires, and special thanks to McKenna Carter, Jennifer Kindel, and Nora Vance for their leadership to plan this great event. #CompassCares
* Interest rates could rise to as high as 4% next year according to some projections, still historically low and well below highs set in the ’90s.
* Zillow has ceased buying homes in its ZILLOW OFFERS program claiming it has reached its home-flipping capacity for the year and will hold off on agreeing to buy any more homes,….. (Bloomberg)
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Muted Appreciation for an Eye-Popping Apartment in the Sky
Purchased for $11.1 million, or roughly $3,350 per square foot, in April of 2016, the cooperative apartment #1601 at 1750 Taylor Street (a.k.a. The Royal Towers in Russian Hill) returned to the market listed for “$9.5 million” this past September, a price which was quickly upped to $11 million on the MLS.
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In 1988, Roger Hillyard was making his morning coffee on San Francisco’s west side when the insert to his French press broke. He knew finding a new insert wasn’t going to be easy — it was the pre-internet days, after all — but he also didn’t think it would be impossible to find one in the whole city.
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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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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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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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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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