The New Year is the perfect time to set intentions and embrace fresh opportunities for adventure and self-care!  Whether you're looking to explore new destinations, enhance your well-being through healthy eating, or dive into inspiring reads, this post has you covered. Here are some ideas to kick off the year with purpose and joy

Travel Ideas for the New Year

Travel can rejuvenate the mind, body, and soul. For adults between forty and seventy-five, the key is finding destinations that combine comfort, accessibility, and enriching experiences. Here are a few ideas:

• Wellness Retreats: Consider visiting spa resorts or yoga retreats that cater to relaxation and mindfulness. Sedona, Arizona, or Tulum, Mexico, are fantastic options. Locally there are many great spas & retreats like Two Bunch Palms in Palm Desert or La Costa.

• Culinary Tours: Such a fun idea, and there are so many local choices.  My Grandson Max and I took a cooking class in Florence, Italy on our trip.  We made pizza and gelato and it was fabulous!!  I recently took a Tuscany Cooking class at Sur La Table in Carlsbad….so much fun!

Many of us are working on a healthier eating plan. A couple of good suggestions include:

• Pack Healthy Snacks: I happen to make excellent granola. Feel free to call or email if you’d like any ideas.

• Mindful Indulgence: Enjoy local cuisine, but aim for balance. I went to Flower Child last night in Flower Hill shopping center, and there are so many great choices; including their gluten free chocolate chip/coconut cookies. 

  Book Recommendations to Inspire Your Year
  Books can be powerful motivators, offering insights and stories that spark new passions. Here are some recommendations:

  • The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins.  I can’t stop listening to this on Audible! Already changed my life!

  • Another favorite of mine is How To Know A Person - David Brooks

  • The Beauty of What Remains - Steve Leder    This is an excellent book for anyone, especially those who have lost a loved one.  My dear friend MaryLou F. Recommended this to me shortly after my Mom passed away in May.

  For Healthy Eating:

• The Blue Zones Kitchen by Dan Buettner: Discover recipes from the world’s healthiest communities.

• Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat: Learn the fundamentals of delicious, balanced cooking.

• Atomic Habits by James Clear: A practical guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones.

• The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin: An inspiring exploration of ways to cultivate happiness in everyday life.

  
  The most important part of any resolution is starting small and staying consistent. Whether you’re booking your next trip, experimenting with new recipes, or diving into a book, each step brings you closer to a more vibrant year. Remember, the goal isn’t perfection—it’s progress and enjoyment.

  
  Here’s to a year filled with exploration, nourishment, and inspiration. Where will your 2025 journey take you?

For New Year’s Resolutions: The second Friday in January is often reared to as “Quitters Day”.  This doesn’t have to be YOU!!

Encouragement for the Journey
The most important part of any resolution is starting small and staying consistent. Whether you’re booking your next trip, experimenting with new recipes, or diving into a book, each step brings you closer to a more vibrant year. Remember, the goal isn’t perfection—it’s progress and enjoyment.

Here’s to a year filled with exploration, nourishment, and inspiration. Where will your 2025 journey take you?

With the 2024 Presidential election fast approaching, you might be wondering what impact, if any, it’s having on the housing market. Let’s break it down.

Election Years Bring a Temporary Slowdown

In any given year, home sales slow down slightly in the fall. It’s a typical, seasonal trend. However, according to data from BTIG, in election years there’s usually a slightly larger dip in home sales in the month leading up to Election Day (see graph below):

Why? Uncertainty. Many consumers hold off on making major decisions or purchases while they wait to see how the election will play out. It’s a pattern that’s shown up time and time again, and it’s particularly apparent for buyers and sellers in the housing market.

This year is no different. A recent survey from Redfin found that 23% of potential first-time homebuyers said they’re waiting until after the election to buy. That’s nearly a quarter of first-time buyers hitting the pause button, likely due to the same feelings of uncertainty.

Home Sales Bounce Back After the Election

The good news is these delayed sales aren’t lost forever—they’re just postponed. History shows sales tend to rebound after the election is over. In fact, home sales have actually increased 82% of the time in the year after the election (see chart below):

That’s because once the election dust settles, buyers and sellers have a sense of what’s ahead and generally feel more confident moving forward with their decisions. And that leads to a boost in home sales.

What To Expect in 2025

If history is any indicator, that means more homes will sell next year. And based on the latest forecasts, that’s exactly what you should expect. As the graph below shows, the housing market is on pace to sell a total of 4.6 million homes this year, and projections are for 5.2 million total sales next year (see graph below):

And that aligns with the typical pattern of post-election rebounds. So, while it might feel like the market is slowing down right now, it’s more of a temporary dip rather than a long-term trend. As has been the case before, once the election uncertainty passes, buyers and sellers will return to the market.

Bottom Line

It's important to remember that while election years often bring a short-term slowdown in the housing market, the pause is usually temporary. Those sales are not lost. Data shows home sales typically increase the year after a Presidential election, and current forecasts indicate 2025 will be no different. If you’re waiting for a clearer picture before making a move, just know that the market is expected to pick up speed in the months ahead.

There’s been a lot of recession talk over the past couple of years. And that may leave you worried we’re headed for a repeat of what we saw back in 2008. Here’s a look at the latest expert projections to show you why that isn’t going to happen.  

According to Jacob Channel, Senior Economist at LendingTree, the economy’s pretty strong:

“At least right now, the fundamentals of the economy, despite some hiccups, are doing pretty good. While things are far from perfect, the economy is probably doing better than people want to give it credit for.”

That might be why a recent survey from the Wall Street Journal shows only 39% of economists think there’ll be a recession in the next year. That’s way down from 61% projecting a recession just one year ago (see graph below):

Most experts believe there won’t be a recession in the next 12 months. One reason why is the current unemployment rate. Let’s compare where we are now with historical data from Macrotrends, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and Trading Economics. When we do, it’s clear the unemployment rate today is still very low (see graph below):

The orange bar shows the average unemployment rate since 1948 is about 5.7%. The red bar shows that right after the financial crisis in 2008, when the housing market crashed, the unemployment rate was up to 8.3%. Both of those numbers are much larger than the unemployment rate this January (shown in blue).

But will the unemployment rate go up? To answer that, look at the graph below. It uses data from that same Wall Street Journal survey to show what the experts are projecting for unemployment over the next three years compared to the long-term average (see graph below):

As you can see, economists don’t expect the unemployment rate to even come close to the long-term average over the next three years – much less the 8.3% we saw when the market last crashed. 

Still, if these projections are correct, there will be people who lose their jobs next year. Anytime someone’s out of work, that’s a tough situation, not just for the individual, but also for their friends and loved ones. But the big question is: will enough people lose their jobs to create a flood of foreclosures that could crash the housing market?

Looking ahead, projections show the unemployment rate will likely stay below the 75-year average. That means you shouldn’t expect a wave of foreclosures that would impact the housing market in a big way.

Bottom Line

Most experts now think we won't have a recession in the next year. They also don't expect a big jump in the unemployment rate. That means you don’t need to fear a flood of foreclosures that would cause the housing market to crash.

Sourced from Keeping Current Matters Blog

1) When you own a home, every payment builds equity. And, in San Diego you will more than likely experience a substantial increase in value.  When you rent your return is simply being able to live in that home.

2) Even though interest rates have recently increased, rental rates have also increased.  It’s simple…ask me to calculate a “rent vs. own” analysis.  You will also receive a tax benefit which you don’t when renting.

3) Most people view renting as a short-term solution. In many cases, they think they would never be able to afford a home/condo.  If you can afford to own a home and you’re not planning on moving anytime soon, then it’s really tough to make a case for renting in lieu of home ownership. When you own a home, you also create stability in the long run.

4) When you rent a home, you are limited with respect to what you can do to the home.  If you do get permission to make improvements, when you leave, you don’t benefit from your investment. 

5) Some people get nervous about the financial commitment.  If you fall on hard time, you could see your home.  If you fall on hard times and don’t make your rental payments, you will likely get evicted.  You can also find a sense of community. 

6)  Home ownership will not only give stability, but you will also build your credit and increase your equity.

Need help finding your forever home? Call me at 858-945-8198 

There is a lot of discussion about the real estate market and
where it is going. Many people believe that the market is
declining. Truthfully, it has cooled off a bit. Although we are
beginning to see more homes for sale, we are still seeing a
lack of inventory...most certainly in San Diego.

So, what does that mean to you? It means that those conditions
continue to favor Sellers....it is a “seller’s market”.

As we know, a buyers’ market is when there are more homes for
sale than there are buyers looking to buy. At that time, buyer’s
will have more negotiation power, and we find that seller’s are
more willing to compromise in order to sell their home.

When it is a sellers’ market, and there is not a lot of inventory,
the seller have the negotiating power. As we’ve witnessed in the
past few months, many homes sold over the asking price, sellers
in many cases were able to negotiate staying in their home for a
bit (oftentimes at no cost), and everyone endured a lot of stress!

Is there another type of market? Yes! It is referred to as a neutral
market. A neutral market is when supply and demand are
somewhat balanced.

I think that we all know that the past couple of years have been a
HOT sellers market. Low inventory and a lot of demand.

Todays housing market continues to favor sellers. If you know anyone who is considering selling their home; or if you are interested in the value of your home, please give me a call. Iris: 858.945.8198

You may be reading headlines and hearing talk about a potential housing bubble or a crash, but it’s important to understand that the data and expert opinions tell a different story. A recent survey from Pulsenomics asked over one hundred housing market experts and real estate economists if they believe the housing market is in a bubble. The results indicate most experts don’t think that’s the case (see graph below):

As the graph shows, a strong majority (60%) said the real estate market is not currently in a bubble. In the same survey, experts give the following reasons why this isn’t like 2008:

• The recent growth in home prices is because of demographics and low inventory
• Credit risks are low because underwriting and lending standards are sound

If you’re concerned a crash may be coming, here’s a deep dive into those two key factors that should help ease your concerns.

1. Low Housing Inventory Is Causing Home Prices To Rise

The supply of homes available for sale needed to sustain a normal real estate market is approximately six months. Anything more than that is an overabundance and will causes prices to depreciate. Anything less than that is a shortage and will lead to continued price appreciation.

As the graph below shows, there were too many homes for sale from 2007 to 2010 (many of which were short sales and foreclosures), and that caused prices to tumble. Today, there’s still a shortage of inventory, which is causing ongoing home price appreciation (see graph below):

Inventory is nothing like the last time. Prices are rising because there’s a healthy demand for homeownership at the same time there’s a limited supply of homes for sale. Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American, explains:

“The fundamentals driving house price growth in the U.S. remain intact. . . . The demand for homes continues to exceed the supply of homes for sale, which is keeping house price growth high.”

2. Mortgage Lending Standards Today Are Nothing Like the Last Time

During the housing bubble, it was much easier to get a mortgage than it is today. Here’s a graph showing the mortgage volume issued to purchasers with a credit score less than 620 during the housing boom, and the subsequent volume in the years after:

This graph helps show one element of why mortgage standards are nothing like they were the last time. Purchasers who acquired a mortgage over the last decade are much more qualified than they were in the years leading up to the crash. Realtor.com notes:

“. . . Lenders are giving mortgages only to the most qualified borrowers. These buyers are less likely to wind up in foreclosure.”

Bottom Line

A majority of experts agree we’re not in a housing bubble. That’s because home price growth is backed by strong housing market fundamentals and lending standards are much tighter today. If you have questions, connect with a local real estate professional to discuss why today’s housing market is nothing like 2008.

*Taken from Keeping Current Matters Blog*