I Repeat, The Market Is Hot!
I know it sounds like I’m stuck on repeat, but the market remains smoking hot! My recent listing in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of D.C. had 27 agent showings and over 30 groups coming through on each day of the weekend open houses. That resulted in five offers, with the final buyer waiving all contingencies and bidding 60K over the list price. Win, win, win for my seller! In addition, a similar property at a slightly lower price point right behind this one received 10 offers.
In December, we had a great win for one of my buyer clients as well. Even though it’s a total seller’s market, certain tricks of the trade allowed us to jump on a house in Takoma Park, Maryland. We were able to secure the property thanks to a fellow Compass agent allowing us to view the home and negotiate before it officially went on the market. Without that connection, we would have had to jump through h oops and cross our fingers that another motivated buyer wouldn’t beat out our offer.
We Still Have Work to Do
I pass by the Capitol regularly, and over the past week, it’s been really sad to see the barriers going up. The fact that fellow citizens were able to breach the doors of this sacred building is difficult to process, but at the same time, I remain hopeful. If one positive comes out of the attack on the Capitol, it’s that it has awoken many people to the fact that we still have a lot of work to do to combat misinformation and inequality.
As armed militants are reportedly organizing another insurgence on Inauguration Day, I remain confident in our local and federal security forces and hopeful in humanity that we can get past the division and start to rebuild.
New Year’s Resolutions
Like many others, getting back into shape was on my 2020 list of New Year’s resolutions. Here we are in 2021, and...it’s still on my list! When I purchased a stationary bike last year, I consistently hit the pedals for about two months; but then, as is so easy to do when life gets busy, I got off track. So, I’m back at it with a clearer vision and plan this year.
Step 1: Regular Exercise
In June, when social distancing was in full effect, I knew I needed something other than the treadmill we already had. So many people tell me they love the Peloton, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend $2,500 on the bike and $39 on the monthly class subscription.
I started asking around and looked at other bikes on Amazon. The Yosuda had a good amount of positive reviews, and best of all, it was only $339, so I pulled the trigger. As soon as it arrived, I jumped on and knocked out two great months. Then, I fell off. But so far, since ringing in 2021, I have kept up my goal to exercise five times a week for at least 30 minutes!
Step 2: Stop the Late-Night Snacking One big problem I have is after the boys go to sleep and I finish up work, I resort to grabbing snacks. What tricks have you used to fight the urge to munch in the evening?
Step 3: Explore Eating Less Meat and Integrating More Plant-Based Meals For years, I have been hearing that consuming too much meat is unhealthy, so I am committing to learning more. Debbie has already been making a lot of roasted vegetables and quinoa, so we are on the right path.
I wish you each the courage and discipline needed to stick to your 2021 resolutions! Let’s keep each other accountable!!
Renovating Shepherd Park
Last month, I announced that Debbie and I bought a fixer-upper and that we’d be sharing our renovation story through a series of videos. As promised, here is episode one of Renovating Shepherd Park! Be sure to hit the subscribe button in YouTube to be notified of new episodes.
Can I Ask for a Favor?
The majority of my clients come to me through referrals from all of you, and I can’t express how grateful I am for that! If you have had a great experience working with me on a real estate transaction, would you mind taking a few minutes to write a review to help the next buyer or seller find me online? Extra credit if you post the review on Google and Facebook! :)