March Madness Isn’t Just for Basketball 🏀🏡

March feels like a turning point.

Winter sports are wrapping up, new seasons are starting (flag football, basketball, and of course… soccer — always soccer in our house ⚽), and we’re planning spring break, summer camps, and vacations. There’s fresh energy everywhere.

Real estate feels the same way.

As an industry, we’re shaking off the slower winter months and seeing renewed activity. Some of that is seasonal. Some of it is buyers and sellers trying to “time” the market. Some of it is interest rates bouncing but generally trending better than last year. And some of it is simply the optimism that comes with spring.

Here’s what we’re seeing:

📈 Buyers are negotiating again.
Unlike a few years ago, buyers today have leverage — especially when homes are priced aggressively.

One example: a client of mine was in escrow at $4.6M and ultimately walked away due to too many issues. The home later closed under $4M. That’s a significant shift.

⚖️ Sellers need to be strategic.
Working with strong buyers matters. Missing a solid offer can be costly in this market.

✨ Quality remodels are commanding premiums.
Homes that are truly renovated — not just cosmetic updates — are selling at or above asking. Buyers will pay for quality craftsmanship because most don’t want the time, stress, or cost of a major remodel.

That’s where strategy comes in.

Part of what we do as your real estate advisor is help you determine:
• What improvements are worth making
• Where to spend money (and where not to)
• How to maximize return before selling

If you’re wondering how to position your home to sell for top dollar — or how to take advantage of today’s negotiating environment — let’s connect.

Spring is here. Opportunity is too.

Mortgage rates jump sharply higher after Iran strikes, reversing last week’s decline
By Diana Olick
CNBC

After falling below 6%, matching their lowest level in several years, mortgage rates reversed course Monday, hitting their highest point in two weeks.

The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed loan rose 13 basis points to 6.12%, according to Mortgage News Daily. It had fallen to a recent low of 5.99% on Feb. 23 and pretty much sat there all week.

The drop was welcome news as the all-important spring housing market gets underway. Potential buyers have been sidelined by high home prices and concerns over the broader economy. Mortgage rates crossing into the 5% range broke an emotional barrier for some, suggesting buyers might jump at the opportunity.

Mortgage rates loosely follow the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury, which rose back above 4% on Monday. The growing conflict with Iran caused a spike in oil prices, raising inflation worries and pushing yields higher.

Oil prices, however, may not be what’s driving mortgage rates up, according to Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.

“In fact, versus the 3pm CME close on Friday, bonds were flat until 7am. By that time, oil had already experienced almost all its volatility for the day,” Graham said in emailed comments to CNBC. “The crux of the bond sell-off played out in a vacuum--STRONGLY suggesting Friday’s yields were dragged down by month-end buying and this morning’s selling is ‘new month’ positioning.”

This underscores the possibility that the bond market will view Monday’s move as a technical bounce at the 4% level in 10-year Treasurys, Graham said. This means it could be more challenging for rates to move lower without meaningful motivation from economic data, which there is plenty of this week, including the monthly employment report set for Friday.

Read the Full Article Here!

California’s housing gridlock deepens as inheritance becomes key path to ownership

By Rob Williams
Seeking Alpha

For equity investors tracking housing supply, homebuilders and California-exposed financials, a striking data point stands out: nearly one in five home transfers in the state now happens through inheritance, The Wall Street Journal reported.

About 18% of California property transfers last year, roughly 60,000 homes, were inherited, according to real-estate analytics firm Cotality. That’s a record share dating back to 1995, up from 12% in 2019 and roughly double the national rate of 8.8%.

The trend underscores a structural supply constraint in one of the country’s most expensive housing markets. With the median single-family home price near $900,000 last year, younger buyers are increasingly reliant on family wealth rather than wages to gain entry. For many households, ownership is effectively delayed until assets pass down.

For investors, the implications are significant: fewer voluntary sales mean tighter resale inventory, stickier prices and slower transaction velocity. These dynamics can benefit existing homeowners and property-tax-backed municipal revenue, but weigh on volume-sensitive players such as brokerages and mortgage lenders.

Several forces reinforce the lock-in effect. Homeowners in California stayed in place for nearly 17 years on average in 2024, versus about 12 years nationally, according to Redfin. A major reason is Proposition 13, the 1978 law that caps annual property-tax increases at 2% based on purchase price. Longtime owners often pay taxes on decades-old valuations, while new buyers are taxed at today’s much higher market levels, a gap that can be dramatic.

Capital-gains treatment further discourages sales. When heirs inherit property, the tax basis resets to current market value, potentially eliminating large embedded gains. For highly appreciated homes, which aren’t uncommon in coastal California, that reset can translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars in avoided federal and state taxes. Selling during life, by contrast, may trigger substantial tax liabilities beyond the standard exclusion.

California tightened some inheritance-related property-tax rules in 2021, limiting heirs’ ability to retain low tax assessments on certain properties. But legal and tax advisers say the broader incentive structure still favors holding property until death.

The result is what some real-estate professionals describe as a self-reinforcing cycle: constrained supply supports elevated prices, which in turn raises the tax and capital-gains cost of selling, further reducing turnover.

For public-market investors, that backdrop suggests continued pressure on affordability, limited organic inventory growth and a housing ecosystem increasingly shaped by generational wealth transfers rather than first-time buyers entering through traditional financing channels.

Read the Full Article Here!