Happy Friday, friends! If you judged the holidays based on what was in the stores, it’s been Halloween Season since the day after July 4th. But now that the weather has cooled we’re really getting in the spirit. Scott decorated the outside of the house, and almost every day Maven will spend time in the driveway to take in the “spooky lights”, “skeleton friends” and “my pumpkins” with so much glee on her face. This time of year a lot of families and business get into the spirit in their own way and we love to go be a part of the experiences. To help keep track of it all, we’ve created an interactive Halloween activity map, to the left. Just click the map and let it be your guide for the next couple of weeks of spooky, family fun!
We have also included a market update for North County with real-time data wis really informative and cool, if you like real estate data like I do. If you have any questions about it, or your area isn’t included, reply to this email with whatever you need.
Nearly every day, Compass’s Leonard Steinberg puts together a handful of real estate news bits that are always so interesting I have to share some of my favorites of the week. To receive these every day from Leonard, please click [_here](mailto:ls@compass.com “”) and include your full name and email address to get on his mailing list.
* As I predicted, the current banking issues will trigger a realization that the Fed has gone too far too fast: in just a day, the average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 6.57% yesterday…. (CNBC)
* If flight costs are 20% higher than they were in 2019, that equates to price inflation of around 5% per year….
* In November, December and January, U.S. luxury home purchases were down 44.6% compared to the same period in 2021, a record-shattering period. Often the luxury markets are the first to cut back and the first to recover. (CNBC)
* Ali Alasgar Farhadov asked ChatGPT how to avoid the 11 phrases we should avoid in speech quoted yesterday and suggest what to do/use instead. Here are the suggestions:
Instead of saying “um,” pause and take a breath before continuing.
Instead of saying “in all honesty,” simply be honest and speak from the heart.
Instead of saying “I think,” speak with confidence and use phrases like “I believe” or “in my experience.”
Instead of saying “sort of,” use specific language to accurately convey your meaning.
Instead of saying “just,” be direct and use language that clearly communicates your point.
Instead of saying “like,” use precise language that accurately conveys your meaning.
Instead of saying “I’m no expert, but,” simply state your opinion or share your knowledge confidently.
Instead of saying “in my opinion,” state your perspective with confidence and clarity.
Instead of saying “I’ll try,” commit to taking action and use phrases like “I will” or “I can.”
Instead of saying “I’m sorry, but,” own your mistakes and use phrases like “I take responsibility for” or “I made a mistake.”
Instead of saying “did that make sense,” check for understanding by asking more open-ended questions like “what are your thoughts on that?”
* The average size of new apartments in 2022 was 30sf smaller than the year before, the sharpest drop in the last 10 years. The share of 1-bedroom and studio apartments grew to 57% of new apartments in 2022, up from 50% of new builds 10 years ago, part of why the average size of all apartments has shrunk. While 3-bedroom units grew by 15sf in the last year, the average size of 2-bedroom, 1-bedroom, and studio units all fell by at least 10sf. Bankers are obsessed with $$$$/sf….. (CNBC)