Hello November!
We're heading into the holiday season... we hope everyone has some great plans! While the real estate market will be slowing down, it's a great time to find some bargains since there is less competition. And if you don't follow us on IG, please check us out here @landerkrubsackteam... we feature a range of interesting properties that come on the market, and we also showcase some of the renovation projects that we're working on.
Did You Know?
* Only 1% of existing US homes changed hands in the first half of 2023, the lowest number in a decade and the lowest available inventory of homes in 20 years.
* While California’s top insurers may once again cover homes in fire-prone areas, the policies may come at a steep cost to homeowners. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to speed rate approvals for insurance carriers, who insisted rates should rise to meet their rising costs. The process will open a spigot of new fire insurance choices— but also send rates soaring, insurance experts say. Pending and approved rate increases range from 3 percent to 40 percent for a dozen insurance companies that include State Farm, Farmers, CSAA, Liberty Mutual, Mercury, Allstate, USAA, Auto Club, Travelers, American Family, Nationwide and Chubb, according to the California Insurance Commissioner’s Office.
* A recent survey by WSJ Intelligence of more than 2,200 wealthy individuals found a majority planned to finance their next home purchase. Only 39% of the respondents—whose net worth averaged $4.76 million—planned to pay cash. Often wealthier people prefer borrowing - even at higher rates - instead of liquidating stocks to generate cash that may be depressed in value... and triggering capital gains taxes. If you can generate 15% returns on investments, borrowing at 7.5% is a good deal. Buying a home with financing and allotting the cash towards investments allows you to write off some/all the interest for tax purposes, too. For many of the wealthiest, homes are a relatively minor portion of their assets. (BARRONS)
* The FED's mission to reduce price escalation is failing in Silicon Valley, where there were at least 33 properties that sold $200,000 or more over the list price in the month of September, including 9 properties that received more than half a million dollars over the asking price! Most of the properties attracted multiple offers in less than 2 weeks, in AS-IS condition with no contingencies. Despite the rising mortgage rates, the price of houses kept going up while the total sales decreased year over year. Definitely a very interesting time for the housing market, at least in the Silicon Valley area. Maybe at one point the FED realizes what everyone reading this already knows: higher rates = fewer sales = higher prices!
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
NOVEMBER 17TH - JANUARY 2ND
Lightscape at the LA Arboretum
Back by popular demand, the internationally acclaimed Lightscape, returns to the 127-acre Los Angeles County Arboretum. You won't want to miss this!
FEATURED LISTING
2 BD 2.5 BA
2100 SF
$1,195,000
We're excited to represent this beautiful home in the Araby Cove neighborhood of Palm Springs. It's a small neighborhood -- approx. 77 homes-- on the south end of the city. There's less wind, and no land lease. It's also minutes from downtown and close to many great restaurants. If you're thinking about an investment and/or vacation property in Palm Springs, we're experts in the area. We also have extensive experience in the Palm Springs Airbnb market.
