Roadmap with Irina - May 2024

In April of this year, the median sale price for single-family homes and condos finally surpassed the mark from 2022 for the same month. However, the number of closed sales was still below April 2022 levels. Despite fewer homes being sold at higher prices, it appears that the market is still recovering from the drop experienced in 2023. Looking at the market dynamics for this year, the median sale price continued to increase every month, with 23% more homes sold and 28% more new single-family home listings, along with 27% more homes sold and 26% more new listings for condos and townhouses.

Currently, there are 1,701 homes for sale in Santa Clara County, which is 18% more than a month ago, indicating that inventory continues to increase. Historically, market activity decreases by the end of May due to the end of the school year, and the summer market is typically calmer than the spring market. Let’s see how it plays out this year.

In the past couple of weeks, I noticed that open houses were less active, although most of them still received multiple offers and sold for an average of 5-10% over the asking price. However, there were fewer offers for each property, and some homes received only one offer. Nonetheless, everything eventually sells.

The new structure of paying commissions to agents might impact the market. Since sellers will have the option of not paying the buyer's agent commission (although currently, about 95% of sellers are still willing to pay full or partial fees), buyers might start bringing lower offers and asking for seller credits to cover closing costs. This could potentially slow down sales or create problems with appraisals. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts to these commission changes, so stick around, I'll keep you posted.

If you are thinking about buying or selling, let’s connect, talk about your options, run some numbers, and see if this is the right time for you. Call me, I am always here for you.

Two weeks ago, my friends and past clients Elena and Igor Kagan, and Marina Kotik, invited me to join them on a wine tour to Paso Robles. I had never been to Paso Robles before (shame on me!), and I had never gone on an overnight trip with past clients. I was a bit nervous about how it would go, but in such welcoming company, I quickly relaxed and enjoyed every minute. I didn’t have to worry about anything: they booked a hotel, made a list of wineries, and took care of the food. I didn’t even have to drive! With the luxury of doing nothing, I surrendered and let my worries go.
 
We started at Sculpterra Winery in the morning (who said you cannot drink in the morning?) and ended up tasting wine at 3 more wineries, trying about 22-25 wines (you know, it is hard to count after all the wine that we tasted). I brought home about 20 bottles of wine, so life is going to sparkle for a couple of months. 
 
Every winery had something special. Sculpterra had fine wines and beautiful animal sculptures. The host was very knowledgeable and told us about the history of the winery, the wines, and the people who worked there. There were a few outdoor wine-tasting spots and a very relaxing picnic area. Then we went to Cass Winery, where we tasted more wine and tried different sausages. They had a very nice menu and an outdoor pizza oven, but we were not ready for food yet, so appetizers were enough.
 
After that, we went to Barr Winery, a quiet place with a small tasting room. We were the only visitors there for a while, so we enjoyed wine and undivided attention from the hosts. And the last winery we visited that day was Bianchi. Great wines, a relaxing setting next to a beautiful pond with water lilies, and live music, what else do you need to wrap up the day?
 
Our last stop was an Italian restaurant in downtown Paso Robles. That was a weekend of prom parties, and there were so many excited high school kids dressed up for the occasion. It probably wasn’t very polite of me to stare at them, but the girls looked so beautiful in their long dresses with open backs, and the boys were so serious in their suits, so you would’ve stared too. The dinner was delicious, and the last glass of wine was perfect, so it was the ideal end to our busy day.
 
It was a wonderful trip! The weather was great, not too hot, and we always could find shade to sit in. Nobody had any urgent issues, so my phone was silent. The hotel bed was very comfy, and I slept like a baby and even had colorful dreams. We talked about everything, and I felt so relaxed and comfortable all the time!
 
A Huge Thank You to Elena, Igor, and Marina for the great experience and for making my weekend so special. I hope that you enjoyed my company too.

Always yours, 
Irina