I passed a silly test this week. You know the kind of test I'm talking about.
The kind where you have to memorize facts and dates, math formulas, and verbatim procedural mechanics of licensing, contract, and fair housing laws. Riveting content, let me tell you.
It's a lot to remember! I feel proud, and I'm glad it's behind me. Now, I can move on to the next phase - filing my managing broker's license paperwork, which might turn out to be harder than I think. Scheduling the test was a gymnastics event. A conversation best had over a few glasses of wine!
Anywho, this is a mandatory next step in building my business, and getting it off my plate feels great.
I'm looking ahead to next year, which I have a feeling will present some challenges in our market. I'd be lying if I said 2023 was easy. It was not. Our team learned a lot this year, and we feel confident going into 2024.
The question we keep getting asked is if now is a good time to buy or sell. I say it's a better time to buy than sell.
What's happening in the economy will stabilize, and hopefully, it will become more affordable to borrow money again. When that happens (hopefully in two years' time??), the marketplace will get busy, and prices will probably rise. By how much? It's hard to say, but a 7-18% increase in some areas doesn't seem unreasonable. It's happened before, more than twice.
Sellers moving to an area where the cost of living is cheaper? Maybe selling your home now in order to buy your new home somewhere less expensive is the right move to make? Home prices will likely rise, so it's important to evaluate if making more money on your home sale outweighs paying less on the sales price of your new home.
We're eager to see what 2024 has in store for us and for our clients. Bring on the new year!
But first, let's enjoy the holidays. Cheers!
