As much as I try to deny it, many signs are pointing to the end of summer. While the weather is still very summery, my girls return to school next week and our family goes from four to three again as our oldest heads to San Diego for her sophomore year at USD (WHAAAAAT?). While many of us crave routine after the haphazard rhythms of summer, I find myself desiring it to be longer, to have more time with both my girls, for family dinners and snuggles on the couch, all four of us.
When it comes to my family, I am a huge throbbing heart that lives outside my body, all mush and feelings. While I am blessed to be a part of a large, unruly yet loving Sri Lankan extended family, my immediate family of four is where everything begins and ends for me. When the world around me threatens to disrupt our peace, I stop everything I am doing to protect it, fiercely. While I love what I do professionally, Eric and my girls are my whole world and always come first before everything.
I have been thinking about the importance of protecting my peace, and by extension, that of my family because life is tough out in the real estate world lately. The Denver market has notably shifted towards greater balance, the real estate industry is in the middle of disentangling itself in aftermath of the NAR Settlement, and consumers appear to be internalizing all of this as the deals themselves get harder to negotiate and close. In fact, at the end of July, we had a 35% fall out rate on contracts! The majority of these were due to buyers and sellers being unable to resolve inspection issues - compromise, reason and fairness being largely missing in these negotiations.
The reality is that we have more supply than we have had in over a decade (2.5 months’ supply = more than 2 homes for every buyer), and the rates, though mercifully coming down, are still around 6% where most homeowners are locked into rates at or below 3%. In the luxury market with home prices above $2M we have a market in equilibrium with over 6.5 months’ supply, which is a place we haven’t been for a very long time. Yet, I still encounter sellers who insist on testing the market and pricing based on comparable sales in 2021 which was not just a different time but a whole different planet!
On the other side, buyers are responding with gleeful and unchecked abandon (my opinion) as they make low-ball offers and present inspection lists that are a mile long to sellers who can’t believe what they are receiving. It is in these moments when the best realtors rise to the top with their seasoned experience, impeccable negotiation skills and ability to keep everyone calm and civil until the closing table. I find myself in an increasing number of hard conversations with my clients, and have to remind myself of the value of protecting my own peace. Without it, I honestly can’t serve them at the highest level and certainly cannot be the mother and wife that I aspire to be for my loves. Boundaries are become increasingly more important and I now view them as a necessity, not a luxury.
As we approach the fall season, and life rhythms change, what looks as if it could threaten your peace? Can you see it approaching? If so, what can you do to protect yourself so that you may have an easier, more peaceful journey through the coming days?
