Making Thanksgiving dinner awkward with housing conversations

Turkey with a side of real estate? Yes please. Or maybe not. Here are some topics to potentially bring up at the Thanksgiving table if you need a little spice. I also have two new graphs that I’m excited to share.

OVER FOUR THOUSAND BLESSINGS TO COUNT

This year we’ve seen 3,346 more new listings hit the Sacramento region compared to last year, which is welcome news that sellers aren’t as frozen as the previous year. Additionally, we’ve had 707 more closed sales, which is also nice to see. And yeah, I realize these numbers are far below normal levels, but let’s rejoice in having more. In 2024, it’s all about the small wins and a focus on the market that is happening instead of what is missing. Stats represent Sac, Placer, Yolo, and El Dorado (Jan to Oct).

PASS THE GRAVY & HOUSING CONVERSATIONS

Some housing topics to spice up Thanksgiving dinner…

1) Mortgage rate predictions for 2025
2) Growth in housing supply in 2024
3) Do “Live Laugh Love” signs increase your home’s value?
4) Why the iBuyer model hasn’t lived up to the hype
5) Selling Sunset vs reality
6) Unemployment and credit card debt rising
7) Do listings with the word “nestled” sell faster?
8) Can Zillow smell if 20 cats live there?
9) Buyer hypersensitivity about price, condition, & location
10) Concessions builders are offering
11) Would you buy a house formally used as a marijuana grow?
12) Will cottage cheese ceiling texture ever come back?
13) Modest price growth in 2024
14) Is gray everything finally done?
15) Should you light candles during an open house?
16) The ’80s & ’90s housing market vs today
17) Bitcoin or real estate?
18) Dating the rate
19) Growth of “pickleball” in real estate listings
20) Expectations for the rest of the year and spring 2025

AND TWO QUICK GRAPHS

I’m excited to introduce two brand new visuals. Imagine how different the housing market would feel if we were getting a normal number of listings (gray line).

And check out sales (black) compared to new listings (blue). Sales have been lower in recent years, but do you see a larger gap between sales and listings this year? That’s why it hasn’t been as competitive. But it’s also normal to see a wider gap, so I wonder at times if we’ve forgotten what it feels like to have more listings. Are we so used to years like 2020, 2021, and even 2023 that it’s been a struggle to adjust to 2024?

THANK YOU

On a serious note, I’m incredibly grateful for all the conversations we’ve had this year, and I cannot say thank you enough for the business you’ve sent my way. I don’t take for granted the opportunities you’ve given me with speaking too. On a personal note, I’ve really tried to focus on being more intentional about building friendships this year, so I find myself more fulfilled. I do have the itch to put together one last pool table event before the year is up too, so stay tuned on my socials. Anyway, from my household to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanks for being here.

Questions: Which housing topics are you going to bring up at Thanksgiving (haha)? Any special plans this week?

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