Marjorie Gets Real: Birthday, Opening Day, and Graduation!
Posted by Marjorie Dick Stuart on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018 at 5:23pm.
Last year I celebrated my birthday in Kenya. This year was not so exotic… but memorable nonetheless. It kicked off at La Piquette with the Lunch Bunch on Thursday.
Friday night, the grandkids, Sean and Teagan, along with their parents, Cass and Ryan joined us for dinner to bid farewell to Uncle Rhett, who was returning to Emory, and to wish me a Happy Birthday!
My birthday, on Saturday, was bittersweet as Bill and I drove Rhett to Reagan National. He’s a senior. This is it. Baseball practice began Sunday morning. It was about 38 degrees.
We’re excited about Opening Day of his final season, but not about the game time temperature we’re likely to endure on February 3. Graduation is approaching in May and other than being very proud of my 6’-3” 220 pound “baby” boy, my emotions are swirling. Rhett wants to make films, so he’ll probably end up in LA.
This semester he gets to do two things he loves… play baseball and make a movie. Plus, he’s working on finding his path into the film industry. Many of you have been very generous in referring him to contacts that could be helpful. Just the other day he spoke to the head of a studio who shared his insights on how to approach his job search more effectively.
So, thank you and if anyone else has any thoughts to guide Rhett or knows of someone he should con-tact, please let me know.
Now how about that real estate market?
Some homeowners don’t realize how strong the market is, or how much equity they now have, so they’re not selling. Others think that the market is so crazy that they can ask any price, so they’re on the market, but not selling.
Most buyers don’t want to believe how competitive the market is and are frustrated by failed offers until they “get it.” Others think it’s impossible to buy.
So, here are the some facts about 2017:
- The average sale price increased over 4%
- Inventory over $1,000,000 is down almost 15%
- The number of house sales over$1,000,000 is up almost 22%
What does all this mean for 2018? It’s all about supply & demand. So here’s what I see … Record low inventory, combined with continuing low interest rates and increasing demand means even more com-petition among buyers, frequently resulting in multiple contracts above list price. Not even the frigid temperatures can cool today’s “hot” seller’s market.