Spring 2024 Market Update

Our coastal neighborhoods have shown signs of improvement in 2024, as both housing supply and buyer demand are on the rise. While the market will likely face headwinds in the coming months as mortgage rates continue to fluctuate, the lending environment is expected to be more favorable in 2024. Heading into the spring homebuying season, expect rates to ease again as inflation stabilizes and pent-up demand converts into sales.

Contact me for a market snapshot of your neighborhood.
 

DID YOU KNOW?
Why are SMART TV's so (relatively) cheap? They are watching you...collecting data about your usage and watching patterns. (CNBC)

DID YOU KNOW?
San Francisco is once again experiencing a tech revival. Entrepreneurs and investors are flocking back to the city, which is undergoing a boom in artificial intelligence. Silicon Valley leaders are getting involved in local politics, flooding city ballot measures and campaigns with tech money to make the city safer for families and businesses. Investors are also pushing startups to return to the Bay Area and bring their employees back into the office. Investment in Bay Area startups dropped 12% to $63.4 billion in 2023. By contrast, funding volumes for Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles, two smaller tech hubs, dropped 27% and 42%, respectively. In Miami, venture investment plunged 70% to $2 billion in 2023. (WSJ)
 
DID YOU KNOW? 
Crypto may be the best friend of criminals, an alternative to old fashioned 'bags of cash'. Bitcoin's network is pseudonymous...users are identified only by their addresses on the network. It isn't easy to trace the provenance of a transaction or the identity of an individual or organization behind the address. (WIRED)

DID YOU KNOW?
As measured against the currencies of US’s largest trading partners, the US DOLLAR is a lofty 17% above its average over the last 20 years. US productivity growth and economic dynamism to a torrent of flows into American assets and homegrown technological prowess in crucial areas such as AI, reinforce the greenback’s dominant role as the world’s reserve currency despite short-term ups and downs. Economists raised forecasts for 2024 US growth to 2.1%, lowering the odds of recession to 40%. (Bloomberg)

DID YOU KNOW?
In 2021, 2022 and 2023, over 5 million new businesses have been formed in the US. In 2015 and 2016 it was under 3 million! A record-breaking 5,481,437 new businesses were started in 2023. 70% of new businesses survive beyond 2 years, 50% beyond 5 years, 30% beyond 10 years, and only 25% beyond 15 years. (CENSUS)

DID YOU KNOW?
A patient implanted with Neuralink’s brain technology can now control a computer mouse just by thinking. (CNBC)


DID YOU KNOW?
What are the 10 best U.S. cities for quality of life based on the following factors: Crime Rates, Quality of Education, Well-being, Commuter Index
Quality and availability of healthcare, Air quality index, Federal Emergency Management Agency...
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Boulder, Colo.
Madison, Wis.
San Jose, Calif.
Portland, Maine
Boston, Mass.
Green Bay, Wis.
Hartford, Conn.
Rochester, N.Y.
Trenton, N.J.
More than 90% of Ann Arbor's residents live less than a 10-minute walk from a public park, and the cost of living is just 4% higher than the national average. The average Ann Arbor home value is $471,650, up 5.7% over the past year. Its Gen Z population— aged 18 to 24— grew the fastest in 2022. The city had 26.4% new Gen Zers and a total population of 35.9%. (US News and World Report)