Dana Graham

Newsletters Category

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!

September 2020 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: So . . . back early in the year, did anyone envision what would transpire during the past 6 months?  Between the virus, the demonstrations, the civil (and often uncivil) unrest as reported on the news, and now the election, you’d think that nothing else was going on.  Of course, we all know better, and one thing that has been going surprisingly strongly is the real estate market.  Nice transition, eh?  You can imagine what it’s like showing houses...Continue Reading!

July 2020 Newsletter

 Dear Neighbor: I’m sure real estate is all you’ve been thinking about the past few weeks, right?  No?  Well I have, and how to get houses sold given the [ahem] current situation.  This is when having been in this business 35 years helps.  While challenges and roadblocks periodically appear, they also have in the past, and knowing how to work around them for the people who need to sell in times like this is why my clients appreciate me.  I don’t...Continue Reading!

May 2020 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: I’m sure you can use a little humor right now, so here is a little:  you may have heard that the King of Spain has been quarantined on his private jet.  So it is true that the reign in Spain stays mainly on the plane. It sure is a different world than it was even 45 days ago, isn’t it?  To listen to the news or read the paper, you would think nothing is going on in the world except...Continue Reading!

March 2020 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: Out here in the real estate world, interest rates are still holding in the mid to high 3%’s for a 30-year fixed rate conventional loan.  You can get the high 2%’s for one that is fixed rate for 5 to 7 years, but it then goes to adjustable.  To me this doesn’t make sense unless you just can’t qualify at the 3.75% 30 year fixed.  Interest rates are so low these days and it makes sense to lock them...Continue Reading!

January 2020 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: I can hear Barbara Walters now – “This is 2020”.  In honor of 2020, let me be the first to employ hindsight in looking at the rather interesting real estate market in 2019:  at the beginning of 2019 we were just minding our business when the market got extremely active – by March or so there was almost nothing for sale and what there was was often selling at aberrantly high prices.  This came upon us unexpectedly and, if you’re one of my recent customers,...Continue Reading!