Dana Graham

Newsletters Category

May 2022 Newsletter

Out here in the trenches it’s fairly clear to me that the real estate market is slowly cooling off – rising prices and rising interest rates are having the predictable effect.  Whereas a couple of weeks ago there were only 40 properties for sale of all types and prices, today there are 72.  May not seem like many but, as I’ve observed before, these things always sneak up on you while the media reports, dealing with sales made 60-90 days...Continue Reading!

March 2022 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: For reasons those of us out here in the trenches have a tough time understanding, the real estate market is still strong.  I know this sounds like a broken record (is that still a useful metaphor?).  You can say it’s because of a shortage of houses for sale, but that wouldn’t be the case if they weren’t selling the minute they hit the market, or before.  Clearly there are still, despite record high prices, more buyers out there than...Continue Reading!

January 2022 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: Whew!  We made it thru 2021.  The media continues to report brisk real estate sales but, as I’ve mentioned before, the media doesn’t know what they’re talking about.  The data they use is 2-8 months old and reflects what was going on then, not now.  I just heard 2 days ago that October business was up.  It kind of depends upon how you define “October business”.  They are talking about escrows that closed in October, which therefore generally went...Continue Reading!

November 2021 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: Out here on the front lines, real estate trends often become apparent before the pundits and the press pick up on them.  As I’ve pointed out before, what you read in the press is generally written by reporters not directly involved in real estate.  Not being “in the business”, they tend to use data on closed sales which, by definition, reflects what the market was 60-120 days ago – escrows average about 60 days in length, and the price...Continue Reading!

September 2021 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: Don’t look now, but the market is still hot by almost any historical measure.  I say “almost” because I doubt we’ll ever see a repeat of the frenetic pace of the first 6 months of this year.  While there is still a fairly severe shortage of houses for sale, I am no longer seeing the lines of people waiting to buy – only just enough to generally get multiple offers within the first week, but not the crazy numbers...Continue Reading!

July 2021 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: To the amazement of many, me included, the real estate market continues to be red hot.  Demand exceeds supply, although it’s not clear to me that supply is any longer as constricted as it was during Covid.  Many people are deciding to sell now while the market is hot and prices are high, and retire to an area where the cost of living is lower.  As I’ve said before, I’ve seen markets similar to this in my 36 years...Continue Reading!

May 2021 Newsletter

May, 2021 Dear Neighbor: OK, the real estate market is, in a word, nuts right now.  It seems to have begun last Summer when the shortage of houses for sale, due partially to Covid, caused supply to fall far short of demand.  Other than the recent slight rise in interest rates (which always motivates buyers who think the interest rate train is pulling out of the station), I can’t honestly explain its perseverance.  I (and no one I know) could explain it...Continue Reading!

March 2021 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: Out here in the real estate world we’re getting a small breather from the frenzied pace of 2020.  As I mentioned last time, that took us all by surprise.  When the reality of Covid hit in March, we all figured real estate was going to be on hold for the duration; but the opposite happened.  This was caused by the scarcity of homes for sale due to a) people just not wanting buyers carrying who knew what in their...Continue Reading!

January 2021 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: Well 2020 is over, to the relief of most.  Any further mention of it is [ahem] hindsight.  As I’ve said before, amid all the craziness it turned out to be an unexpectedly good year for sellers of real estate, though few, including me, would have predicted it.  The shortage of houses for sale created at least partially by Covid, caused a frenzy among buyers who had to buy for whatever reason, including the sub-3% interest rates.  The election of last...Continue Reading!

November, 2020, Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: As someone eloquently put it, “Who’da thunk it?”.  When Covid hit 6+ months ago, the general prediction for the real estate market was not rosy.  After all, who is going to want to put their house on the market with Covid lurking on the shoes, hands, and breath of potential buyers?  As you probably know by now, and as I hinted in my last newsletter when this was becoming clear, the reticence of sellers to put their houses on...Continue Reading!