DID YOU KNOW?
Almost 100 million Americans (40% of U.S. adults) will take a family trip in 2019, according to AAA, up slightly from last year. Bankrate.com found in a March 2019 survey of 2,577 adults that 52% are planning a summer holiday this year. Most plan to spend an average of 2-3 weeks income on their vacation/s. 83% will vacation within the USA. (CNBC)
DID YOU KNOW?
Will the Fed announce lower interest rates at its meeting on Wednesday? Only 40% of the financial markets believe it will.... the jobs report came in significantly weaker than expected last month, so.... (Marketwatch)
DID YOU KNOW?
Was the first half of 2018 the PEAK of the US housing market? For some - not all - areas it appears so. These are signs of a cooling market that we are witnessing in many areas:
- More price reductions not only on unrealistic asking prices.
- Longer time to sell.
- Growing inventory.
- Fewer bidding wars.
- Notably reduced sales volume.
- More lax lending standards
None of this necessarily predicates a 'plunge' as some naysayers continually warn, but these signs should not be ignored when planning, marketing, pricing and negotiating. Agents should re-adjust marketing strategies to allow more time to sell and set realistic expectations up front. We must always be the voice of calm, fact-based reality dealing with the markets as they are - whatever they may be - not what we would want or like them to be.
