Picture of my cat for no good reason

I know.  I know.

I said I was going to work on the absorption rates for the first quarter of 2009. I’ve also said that when I get busy the first thing to go is the blog. As much as I love it, there’s higher priorities – like getting a paycheck.  And since I do all of the writing, I get to decide the priorities.

So I put a house on the market in The Village – San Mateo – a desirable neighborhood.  I didn’t – and neither did anyone else – realize how the market’s changed until the phone started ringing and didn’t stop until we had settled on one of the 21  – or 23, I lost count, really – offers that came in.  Are you sure it’s not 2005?

Last week was a whirlwind of phone calls, appointments, disclosure requests and more phone calls.

The Fun

Blogging creates a camaraderie that’s very cool. Ed Gory came into the house – didn’t know it was him until he was gone – because he didn’t introduce himself, which I promptly gave him crap for.

Then Jim Minkey calls.  I immediately start talking to him like I know him because I do.  I read his blog, Absolutely Foster City.

I’ve met so many amazing people and learned so much by blogging – and I get to spout my opinions in my own domain – couldn’t ask for any more.

Lesson Learned

I told you so.  I really wish I could say that – oh, I think I just did.  I knew it wasn’t a good idea to sell the house – really, any house – with a tenant in it.  I thought I had all the bases covered and went ahead and did it anyway.  Lesson learned:  Don’t.

Selling a house is a pain in the a** – a royal one.  Most sellers can’t take it and freak out at some point.  See where I’m going with this?

A lot of what I’ve learned about selling real estate is from experiences like this one.  Won’t do that one again.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Outside the cafe at Filoli

Okay.  No more stress – yeah, right – I’m all caught up with the housing absorption rates for San Mateo County.

Now for a question.  I got advice from a web guy that I should “dumb down” my blog – that “absorption rate” is too complicated of a word – even though every time I post them I add the definition at the bottom.

I changed the title of one of my posts at his advice then decided one was enough.  What do you think?  Should I write to a group of third graders like the newspaper does?  Hmm.  How’s the newspaper business doing right now?  I might have answered my own question but sure would like your input.

Absorption Rates

The absorption rate is a quick way to see if the number of homes for sale in San Mateo County is going up or down. It’s just one of the statistics used to evaluate pricing.

What you’re looking at is how many months’ inventory there is on the market. The assumption is that it will take X number of months for all of the houses currently on the market to sell. More inventory = longer to sell.

You can also see if the area is a buyer or a sellers’ market. The National Association of Realtors defines a balanced market as one is which there is 6 months of inventory. More than 6 months, it’s a buyers’ market; less is a sellers’ market.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The blimp passes me while in San Mateo waiting for the photographer.

I think it’ll be interesting to see what the absorption rates have been over the first quarter of 2009.  I’m going to work on that next.

We’re seeing a big spike in activity in the market right now – houses selling very quickly and with multiple offers.  There’s no way to know – until we look back – if this situation is here to stay or if it’s a blip – not a blimp, a blip.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Outside the cafe at Filoli

I got a little behind in posting.  When I get busy the first thing to go is the blog.  But it looks like Adam Lambert is going to win American Idol so it doesn’t matter.

Interesting that the inventory in the high-end areas like Hillsborough and Atherton is way up while the first-time buyer inventory is seeing a pretty sharp decline.

Absorption Rates

The absorption rate is a quick way to see if the number of homes for sale in San Mateo County is going up or down. It’s just one of the statistics used to evaluate pricing.

What you’re looking at is how many months’ inventory there is on the market. The assumption is that it will take X number of months for all of the houses currently on the market to sell. More inventory = longer to sell.

You can also see if the area is a buyer or a sellers’ market. The National Association of Realtors defines a balanced market as one is which there is 6 months of inventory. More than 6 months, it’s a buyers’ market; less is a sellers’ market.

Popularity: 14% [?]