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| January 2025 A quick 6 minute read |
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| | January is traditionally a time to look ahead towards the coming year and prognosticate on what is to come. Who am I to break with tradition?
As a reminder, 2024 started hot but quickly slowed thanks to (re-)spiking interest rates. When interest rates finally started to drift downward in the second half of the year, buyer engagement increased and our local housing market started picking up again ... which brings us to today!
If the last few weeks are any indicator, 2025 is shaping up to be a stronger year in real estate. Even back in December, traditionally one of the quietest months, open house traffic was unusually heavy, a trend that has continued into January. On the listing side, it feels like at least half of the agents (us included - see below) have listings due to hit the market in the first quarter. And interest rates are expected to drop into the 5.75% range over course of this year. All of these factors point to a strong 2025.
How strong? I would not be at all surprised if locally year-over-year home prices climbed 6%-8% in 2025 (nationally the expectation is appreciation in the 4%-4.5% range)! Our current advice to buyers is that it may be smart to buy sooner rather than later if the right house comes along. Sellers in a position to try to time their sale need to decide how risk averse they are since market conditions can and do change, sometimes quickly. |
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| Save Money with Custom Furniture |
| Pair the word "custom" with almost anything and most of us automatically starting thinking "expensive." Two recent experiences have me rethinking this notion, especially when it comes to nicer furniture.
Our first custom furniture savings came with our new bathroom vanity (part of our 720sf addition you have periodically read about here). If you have ever searched for the perfect bathroom vanity before, you know there are a lot of options out there. But finding one that fit the style of our home AND that we both agreed was attractive, that was a tremendous challenge. After many hours of searching, we finally found a vanity that ticked all of our boxes - except it was half as wide as we needed. Our plan was to place 2 side-by-side and get a custom counter top that spanned both. Almost as an afterthought we asked our contractor, Bakirman Group, if their cabinet maker could produce a single cabinet in the exact same style using the same wood and materials for a similar price - and to our very pleasant surprise they could! Our custom 8' wide teak vanity is the focal point of our new bathroom, and as an added bonus, the linen closet door and cabinet over the toilet share the same custom look.
Our second custom furniture savings came courtesy of Frank Zamudio with North Burl Studio (www.northburl.com). While shopping for a new dining room table, Janie came across a Facebook Marketplace listing for a new custom table that looked perfect. Serendipidously, the precise FB table was unavailable when we went to view it in person, but we quickly realized we needed a much bigger table anyway. On display was an unfinished piece of wood destined to become a table top that looked to have serious potential. It had the subtle live edge elements that I wanted as well as some other natural elements that Janie liked. After deciding on the table leg style and discussing a few other details like curving the ends to soften the corners, all that was left was for Janie and I to determine exactly the size table we needed and email those specifications to Frank. Our brand new, polished and beautiful table was hand delivered a week later precisely as we envisioned. It has a rich and custom look that fits beautifully in our dining room. Similar tables we had found online started at $1,000 more expensive and went up dramatically from there.
If you are considering a fine piece of furniture for your home, you might want to consider going custom, especially if you already have a particular look that you like. It may not only save you money, but also allow you to get precisely what you are looking for!
Fun final note - did you know that there are entire websites dedicated to selling all different styles of table legs? And Home Depot sells butcher block counter tops that could be easily be used as table tops. And some local high schools offer adult wood shop classes. Maybe in my spare time ... |
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| | We have access to a tremendous amount of real estate data, most of which is way more current than you read in the press. If you want to take a deeper dive into the latest numbers, start here:
San Mateo County Real Estate Report Santa Clara County Real Estate Report
Links not working? Email jbarman@compass.com and I will send you a PDF of the same info.
Want to see the data for a specific city? Let us know and we will gladly forward that along! |
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| Featured Listings and Sales |
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| | Just listed ~ Sterling executive home |
| 1028 Silver Hill Road, Redwood City |
| 5 beds, 3 baths, 2,580 sq. ft. $2,788,000 |
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| | * Price Reduced * ~ Serene Setting with mesmerizing views |
| 116 Foxwood Road, Portola Valley |
| 3 beds, 2 baths plus office in 1,600 sq. ft. $2,150,000 |
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| Luxury Property Collection |
| | Looking for a luxury property or even a brief escape from reality? Flip through our online magazine, Compass Luxury, for some of the most exclusive listings in the United States. |
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Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and family - and remember, we are never too busy for your referrals! |
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| | | DRE #01270223 & #01281597 Realtors® M: 650.759.1182 jbarman@compass.com JanieandJohn.co |
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Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California operating under multiple entities. License Numbers 01991628, 1527235, 1527365, 1356742, 1443761, 1997075, 1935359, 1961027, 1842987, 1869607, 1866771, 1527205, 1079009, 1272467. All material is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description or measurements (including square footage). This is not intended to solicit property already listed. No financial or legal advice provided. Equal Housing Opportunity. Photos may be virtually staged or digitally enhanced and may not reflect actual property conditions. |
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