THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Welcome to my weekly newsletter featuring a personal note on the ever-evolving world of real estate along with a few news-worthy updates. Enjoy!

The power of "no"

What do all successful professionals have in common?  The ability to handle the word NO.... or rejection. Everyone is selling something, whether a service, a product, an idea.... or themselves.

If we are doing our jobs right, and putting ourselves out there, we will be told  'no'... often. We should expect this. The inability to handle rejection, or to take it personally, is an enormous disadvantage in business and in life. Without rejection, acceptance would never feel the same or as good. Without rejection, we would never 'think solutions' and EARN that 'yes'.

Sometimes rejection is purely emotional and unexplainable. Sometimes others simply may not like you or connect with you. Sometimes what you may assume is driving the rejection turns out to be the exact opposite. And sometimes 'no' has absolutely nothing to do with you.

"No" can have tremendous power over mindset. But we get to choose how we respond and react - or not react. Perhaps the most powerful lesson I learned from my longtime mentor and business partner, Marc Fleisher, was the ability to let go of rejection. He pictured rejection as this white balloon handed to him - and by opening his hand, he simply let it go. He didn't give rejection energy or emotion. He saved it for the next deal, the next interaction, the next 'yes'. It may have been his most powerful lesson. 

real estate & the news

•  The D.C. metro area is home to more than 6 million residents and is among the wealthiest places in the US: several counties in Maryland and Virginia rank among the top 10 highest earning with median household incomes of over $120,000. It's also the most educated with over half its residents holding at least a bachelor’s degree. Around 20% are employed by the government and many more in companies connected to government contracts. (Yahoo Finance)

• Property taxes are intensely local, but the concern about their sharp upward trajectory in recent years has gone national: More than 72% of metropolitan areas with at least 200,000 residents saw above-average increases in property-tax bills last year. Tax assessment contests have soared. (Attom)

• U.S. existing-home sales fell 5.9% in March from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million. Around 14% of sales fell apart in the last month since the new tariffs fueled uncertainty and hesitation amongst some buyers. Inventory is up 19.8% compared to a year ago. (NAR/FOX/WSJ)

• The FBI says Americans lost a record $9.3 billion to crypto crime in 2024.  In 2024, an estimated 18 million U.S. adults were affected by identity fraud, with the total losses exceeding $47 billion. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported 2.6 million fraud reports and recorded $12.5 billion in losses from those reports. Additionally, the FTC received 1.1 million identity theft reports. (CNBC)

around dc

MOVIES ON THE POTOMAC

Just outside of Washington, D.C. in National Harbor, May 1st kicks off the beginning of National Harbor’s Movies on the Potomac summerlong slate. Fun for all ages, every 6 p.m. on Sunday features a family-friendly film, while couples and adults can come for Thursday’s 7 p.m. date night showings. More details here.

Lee Arrowood

Principal, Arrowood Advisory at Compass

M: 202.251.3175

O: 202.448.9002

lee.arrowood@compass.com

+$173M Sold In 2023

#3 Team Lead 2022