Roadmap with Irina - September 2024

In August of this year, the median sale price for single-family homes in Santa Clara County remained unchanged compared to the same month last year, staying close to the previous July's median. The number of sold homes decreased by 5% since last month, while the number of new listings dropped by 10%. The median sale price for condos and townhouses fell by 6% from July, with sales declining by 25%. Interestingly, inventory decreased by 26%, yet the average days on the market increased from 15 to 25 days within the month, meaning it now takes longer to sell fewer homes.

Currently, there are 1,772 houses and condos for sale in Santa Clara County, an increase of 50 homes compared to last month. Hopefully, with lower rates, homeowners who felt locked into their current homes will see an opportunity to move into properties that better suit their lifestyles, leading to more inventory on the market.

Last week, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.5%, which will impact the real estate market. It’s important to note that 0.25% of this was already reflected in current interest rates, which are around 6%, but lenders expect rates to continue falling over the next couple of months. Keep in mind that interest rates and home prices tend to move in opposite directions—when interest rates decrease, sale prices often increase. If you're a buyer waiting for lower interest rates to resume your home search, be aware that you may face more competition now.

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.

I have to admit, I’m more of a tea person than a coffee drinker. Growing up in a small village in Siberia, my parents weren’t in the habit of having coffee for breakfast—it was always hot tea. Naturally, my siblings and I grew up as tea lovers. Even now, I only have a couple of coffees a week because I don’t want to get hooked!

I remember one time I had a meeting with clients at Philz Coffee and ordered a coffee that I thought would be light on caffeine. After the meeting, I had an open house that went on for 5 hours, and then I had another meeting, so around 8 PM I realized that I was still hyper from the morning coffee. That’s how I learned that light roast doesn’t equal light in caffeine. The crazy thing is that when I am tired, I can drink a cup of coffee, go to bed, fall asleep easily, and sleep like a baby. Maybe it will go away with age, but so far it works this way.

When traveling, I love trying local coffee. I remember places by their specific scent of coffee and something extra that makes the place unforgettable. The scent of freshly made coffee and washed asphalt – this is Paris; coffee and the smell of rich soil - this is Kauai; coffee with crisp morning air – Melburn; and coffee with a smell of orange on a hot morning - Italy. I am sure you have different associations, but that’s how I remembered places I went to.  

I tried coffee with different flavors added like lavender, cherry blossom, orange peel, anise, etc, and some of them were very good, but after everything I tried, my favorite coffee is still cappuccino. Espresso is too strong, latte has too much milk, americano is too watery, but cappuccino has a perfect balance of coffee and milk with a fluffy foam on top.

By the way, did you know that October 1st is International Coffee Day? I’m not sure how people celebrate it, but I imagine the best way is by enjoying a cup of coffee with family or friends. I know our schedules are busy, but I’d love to set aside some time for us to have a cup of coffee together and catch up. Let me know when you’re available—the coffee’s on me!

P.S. When I was searching through tons of pictures on my phone for my coffee pictures, I found out that I have more photos with wine than with coffee, so it looks like I am more of a wine person after all. May 25^th is National Wine Day, so ping me if you want to celebrate that one instead. And you don’t need to wait till May for that. 😉

Always yours, 
Irina