I have an allergy app on my phone, or more accurately it comes in the form of a daily email. It is called “Pollen Count” and predicts the pollen count on a scale of 1-10, and what the primary culprits are. The number today is 6.9 and the offenders are grasses, chenopods, and ragweed. The “number” used to be fairly accurate on a personal level; the higher the number the worse I felt and the lower…you get it. Nowadays it seems irrelevant. I am dying today and have been constantly since April. No amount of over-the-counter medication is even slowing it down. Of all the places I’ve lived, Salt Lake City is without a doubt, the worst. My seasonal penance for living here I suppose.

Being able to host an Open House (OH) is essentially free advertising for a real estate agent. Most agents hold the first OH for their new listing to show the client their commitment. It also allows for them to knock on doors in the neighborhood to introduce themselves and invite them personally to the pending OH. If additional OH’s are held, that opportunity opens up to other agents, so Lisa and I make a point to offer our services. We are always available (remember we watch over 94-year-old mom so no vacation) and we are reliable. One more point, I think we’re pretty good at it too! We had nothing scheduled for Saturday but by 9:00 pm Friday, we each had one lined up. Normally I have several days to prepare. Print flyers, post on social media and knock on some doors. This one was print some info, grab bottled water and ice and my signs. Pulling up to today’s OH, you can’t help but see how dry and desolate most yards look right now. This is actually a blessing since many of the yards in this neighborhood haven’t likely seen human interaction for years, so they can blame it on “the drought” and not be penalized. The state of the house though is an entirely different story. First off-the home is clean-so this is not a reflection on their housekeeping skills but rather on the condition of the property. The exterior is terrible. Roof, siding and fascia need attention. Nothing seems level and most jambs fit poorly. Any interior upgrades were done years ago with poor labor skills and material quality. This all seems pretty harsh right? My point is this house just received a price decrease of almost $40K to $460,000. I’m sorry, but if I wanted-needed-a house and this reflected the top end of my budget, I don’t know what I would do. If it were in a more desirable area (the adage “Worst house in a good neighborhood”) it would be a different story. Reflecting on the last two years, this house is a perfect example of our rapidly evolving new reality. What may have gone under contract in days, now sits unloved and unwanted. In three hours, I had zero visitors. The market is changing, particularly when regarding interest rates, and I think that fact hasn’t made it yet into some listing conversations. If sellers have unrealistic expectations and agents are too hungry for a new listing, it will lead to a lot of anxiety. My example; to get a payment similar to what was available 60-90 days ago when interest rates were 3.5%, this $460K house would need to drop to $380K. That might seem crazy in the post-pandemic market but if you travel back to late 2020, early 2021, $365K was an accurate number for this property. In my opinion, the most difficult job in the near future will fall on the appraiser. Does he or she rely on pandemic/ post-pandemic numbers or do they slide back to 2019? Be interesting to see where it goes.

Happy Father’s Day! Of all the holidays on the calendar, this is my favorite. The ante into this game is simple, it only requires you to be a father (To be elevated to “Dad” status takes much, much more, so thank you to my fabulous sons, for referring to me as dad 😎.) Now of course, technically, a sperm donor could quality, but they may never know until they do their DNA. That is how I met my father Al. World War 11 veteran, chef and prison reform activist. Too bad he died in 2005 and we never had the chance to meet. Happy Father’s Day Al!