Happy Friday, friends! This last couple of weeks has given us San Diegans something we haven’t had in a long time—a great playoff run by the Padres. Nothing unifies a city like their team playing well at the right time and I’ve loved watching and talking with everyone about the games. I especially loved hearing from all my Dodger fan friends last weekend, but I haven’t heard from them lately…no matter how deep they go, I’m so happy for the team and us! Sing it with me: Let’s go Padres! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Let’s go Padres! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
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.
* Tongo, a third-party platform backed by New Valley Ventures, Douglas Elliman’s investment arm, lets brokers borrow up to 75% of a pending commission for a fee, of course: 3-5% charged every 30 days.…that’s 36-60% interest per year! New Valley is part of Vector Group that also owns cigarette company Liggett (formerly known as Western Union), the US’s 4th largest tobacco company. Barbara Corcoran is a spokesperson for e-commission that also fronts commissions up to $15,000….for a fee….10%.(Commercial Observer)
* The era of ‘cheap money’ is over? Credit card debt was never cheap…. it averaged around 15% in 2019 and ‘dipped’ to about 14.5% in 2020…. CHEAP MONEY??? Americans have close to $1 trillion in credit card debt…..it was $927 billion before Covid struck 3 years ago. The state with the lowest average credit card debt per person in the US – Kentucky – is over $5,400….
* To build trust, avoid these 11 words and phrases that make people question your credibility and respect you less:
- “Um”
- “In all honesty”
- “I think”
- “Sort of”
5 “Just”
- “Like”
- “I’m no expert, but”
- “In my opinion”
- “I’ll try”
- “I’m sorry, but”
- “Did that make sense?”
* Some good news: Plunging oil and natural-gas prices are pumping up economic growth, putting money into consumers’ pockets, boosting confidence and easing pressures on government budgets. The price of a barrel of oil has fallen by more than a third since the middle of 2022, to about $77 from $121, below its prewar level. A mild winter, especially in Europe, has helped too. (WSJ)
* One participant in a study about retiree happiness, when asked what he missed about being a doctor for nearly 50 years, answered: “Absolutely nothing about the work itself. I miss the people and the friendships.” Work without the friendships and people is no good either…. (CNBC)
* While some California flooding and excess snow and rain make headlines and certainly have caused damage and some really tough conditions, the big picture delivers another story worth noting: this snowpack and rains are curing a huge challenge….drought. Once this weather pattern subsides, the impact of replenishing reservoirs, raising under-ground water tables, etc will be incredible, not to mention the flowers that are certain to bloom as Spring emerges.
* As Florida’s economy and population soars, rent prices have risen about 40% since 2019, compared to a national average of around 25%. 56.5% of renters are spending 30% or more on housing.
* The five California ZIP Codes with the most net move-ins were all suburbs or exurbs around Sacramento and Southern California, including cities like Irvine, Menifee and Walnut. These fast-growing spots are generally suburbs with new housing coming on line. Some, like Irvine, are high-priced and close to job centers. Others, like Menifee, are farther out from urban cores but offer bigger homes and more outdoor space for the money.