Entries Tagged 'Real Estate Blog' ↓

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…As technology as shrunk our daily world to the point that multiple media outlets and web sources will deliver minute-by-minute reports on anything from Lindsey Lohan’s latest legal issues to Tiger’s divorce, the simple reality of our normal lives is that we are all surrounded by massive amounts of data.  It used to be that it took some time for this data to be sifted and analyzed, but with the plethora of talking heads and experts telling us what we should be thinking (all justifying their  exorbitant salaries they get for being “experts”), we as a society are drowning in over-analyzed data.

Such is the case with any segment of our society….including real estate.

In the past 2 weeks, there have been numerous reports of the following taken directly from the papers, TV, and websites.

1.  Housing sales are off tremendously from last year, the market is slowing, and housing is in more trouble.

2.  A list of the 10 top cities in the United States was published showing housing prices have increased recently, including Los Angeles.

3.  Builders are not building due to horrible demand for housing due to buyers increased concerns about the economy, jobs, etc.

4.  Approximately 70% of all housing closings for the Riverside area close at a price over the original list price due to the bidding action from all the buyers that want to purchase a home.

5.  Home loan interest rates are at their lowest levels since anyone has been keeping track of such things.

6.  July housing sales increased from the previous month.

You get the idea, and I could go on with numerous examples.  SO….which one of these stories that were widely reported is true…..Probably all of them!

Here’s the point.  You can’t analyze daily doses of real estate data, and make any predictions about what it means…you need a little time to see how it all plays out.  Taking the data from a specific week, or month, is like saying your 100 mile car trip will go smoothly because the first 10 miles went smoothly.  A thousand things could happen to slow or derail your car trip…or not…but you need to get a little further into the trip itself before predictions will mean anything.  The same holds true with real estate.

For our Riverside area, as our real estate market hits the bottom, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE WILL THEN PROCEED IN A LINEAR FASHION TO RISING PRICES, ETC.  We will bounce along the bottom for quite some time, with some months being better than others….and that is where we are at this very moment.  Some months, the numbers will show an increase, some months they will not.  The problem is that everyone wants a conclusion…right now…as to exactly what any set of numbers mean.  And unfortunately, there is no lack of people who will be glad to offer their interpretations as to exactly what this minimal amount of data portends for our future.  Right or wrong takes a back seat to the force and fervor of the ”experts” opinion.

So…what to do?

Easy…just chill a bit.  We’re in a cycle, and it will take time for it to progress.   We are far better off than were were 3 years ago, and will be farther along the path 3 years from now.  Westcoe will be happy to let our local residents know of significant housing trends as they present themselves, but how about we let them happen on their own, without the benefit of over-analysis.

We’re not burying our heads in the sand, but merely letting the market play out without immediate panic.  

Or, if it makes you feel better, numbers were down a little bit in August…it got hot, and a lot of people went to the beach.  Makes as much sense as most of the stuff published the past couple of weeks.

Take care, and thanks for reading.

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…Ok….I’m off vacation (bummer) and back to the real world…and before we leave the month of August, we should throw out the latest MLS stats for Riverside before we replace them with what is happening in September.  This should have been done here about 2-3 weeks ago, but then that would have meant writing this blog while on said vacation, which was not going to happen!

Below is the chart for the latest Riverside area real estate activity as per our local MLS….and yes, the columns are crooked…they are straight when I type them, but crooked when published…computers!

Month          Active Listings          Sales for the month          Closings for the month

January               1034                             422                                          502

February             1095                             424                                          482

March                  1115                               512                                          631

April                     1068                              586                                        619

May                      1167                               495                                        620

June                      1075                              386                                       429

July                       1170                               361                                       n/a

August                   1210                              n/a                                       n/a

 (note:  the n/a info is not available until the end of the month….2 months for the closings)

So…what do the latest numbers mean?  Well, inventory is holding steady, sales for the month are off only slightly, but the closing numbers are off significantly, but one month does not necessarily mean much.  It could be the beginning of a trend, or simply the way the closings fell for that particular month.  The good news is that new information becomes available tomorrow, September 1, so we will gather that info, and write more in our blog later this week.  By then, we will also be able to see if this drop in closings is simply a “goofy” month, or something more…but since the pending sales held fairly steady, the closing drop could simply mean there is as much in escrow, but merely taking longer to close.

We’ll get a better picture in a few days, so check back with us then.

Thanks for understanding my taking a couple of weeks to become human again.

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…OK avid readers…I’m “outta” here for 2 weeks for some well deserved R & R…which is a very biased opinion on my part, but it works for me so I’ll roll with it.

Thanks for all your readership, enjoy a few weeks without me, and I will begin posting again the week of August 30th.

See ya.

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…In today’s Business Section of the Press Enterprise, it is reported that for the eighth straight month, foreclosure activity for a large part of the Inland Empire declined.  On it’s face, this is great news, and it would be nice if we could leave it at that.  However, for the last 12 months or so, our industry has been buried in reports and comments about a massive “shadow inventory”…shadow inventory being defined as a glut of foreclosed or almost foreclosed houses just waiting to hit the market. 

So…in this great debate, which is right?  Are foreclosures down, and therefore the shadow inventory is merely a myth, or is the other shoe getting ready to drop heavily on our declining foreclosure rates?

Since we get asked this almost daily by our clients, here is our answer…We haven’t got a clue.

While there is no denying that indeed the foreclosure rates have fallen, the $64,000 question is why?  Are they down because the market is recovering and people are doing better and making their house payments?  Or are some of the government programs designed to help actually helping?  Or are these same programs only delaying the inevitable, and therefore the other shoe will drop when the government help stops?  Or have the banks fallen so far behind that the drop is simply because they haven’t gotten around to dealing with all the delinquent home loans?  Or have the banks taken the foreclosure process right to the last step, and then stopping so they can choose exactly when to foreclose for their own accounting purposes?

We really don’t have the answers to any of the above questions…and neither does anyone else.  Right now all we can say is that the number of repos that hit the market for sale has fallen drastically.  Not that long ago, bank repossessions accounted for, by our estimate, approximately 90% of the market inventory.  Now, they account for only about 33% of the listings for sale.  Granted, another 33% is “short sale” listings, which are really repossessions waiting to happen, but even then, that leaves the remaining 33% of homes for sale as regular, seller owned, standard sales…and that is a huge increase from only 1 year ago.

As we have said many times on this blog, our Riverside/Inland Empire area runs almost opposite of what is happening in the overall country.  Many times, much of the negative national housing news has no bearing on what is really happening in our backyard, but on this issue, we simply cannot tell.  “Experts” have been chatting endlessly about this shadow inventory for quite some time with no actual evidence that it exists.   These bad loans and their accompanying foreclosures have to be somewhere, but as of yet, they have not shown their ugly face.

So what happens now? What are we to think?

All we can suggest is that you do what we do…ignore that which is foretold, and simply deal with that which is on your plate at the moment.  Right now, the repos are not the dominate force in sellers they once were, regular sellers are entering back into the marketplace, and lenders are more open to working with short sales before they become repossessions…and all of that is a good sign.

In fact, if it were not for all the chatter about “shadow inventory”, we could easily draw a conclusion that our real estate market was definitely on the rebound.  Only time will tell on this one, but until proven wrong, we’ll roll with the positive news that is in front of us…and not stress about what may not come.

 Take care.

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…So…one of our regular readers wrote in and wanted to know if Strategic Defaults (where a homeowner simply walks away from their home because it has dropped in value, not because they cannot afford it) were a large part of the real estate landscape in the Riverside area.  Seems the media has popularized this term with stories about the wealthy and the prevalence of this phenomena, and our loyal reader wants to know about our region.  Is this happening right here in Rivercity?

Good question…and while it’s hard to get much actual data in this area (for reasons we will describe), we’ll give you the best answer we can.

To begin, everyone should understand that there are generally only two ways for a real estate company such as ours to get involved with a “distressed” property….either through a short sale (while the seller still owns the home) or as a REO/repo once the bank has foreclosed on the property.

In a short sale, in order for the bank to actually allow the sale to take place (remember, the bank must agree to accept less than what is owed on the property) the seller must have a defined and demonstrated hardship that can be documented to the bank.  This hardship could be loss of job, transfer, divorce, etc…and it must be something that can be documented to the bank.  It’s not enough for the seller to just plead hardship…they must actually show the hardship on paper.  Also, even if there is a verifiable hardship, if the seller has a boatload of cash sitting in a bank somewhere, the existing lender will not exactly be in the mood to lose thousands of dollars while the seller keeps their thousands of dollars.  Bottom line…the seller has to show they can no longer afford the payments and has basically run out of money in the bank in order to get most lenders to agree to the short sale.

So…in this case, it would be almost impossible for a Strategic Default to take place, since the existing lender would just say “no” to the short sale and move on from there.

That leaves us the second way a real estate company gets involved in a distress sale…as a bank repo that needs to be sold.

In this case, since the real estate company only gets involved at the tail end of the foreclosure process, we have no idea why the seller lost the home.  It could have been a true economic hardship brought on through no fault of the seller, or they could have had hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank and simply elected to walk away from the home because the equity was so low.  We don’t know.  We rarely meet the homeowner, and when we do, it is only on their way out of the home.

So…to answer our readers question, we simply do not have the data to give you a factual answer…but that doesn’t mean we don’t have an opinion, or “gut level” response to the question of Strategic Defaults.

As an opinion, I would think that in the Riverside area, we probably have very little of this happening.

Our real estate market exploded from 2000-2007 like almost everywhere else, but mostly it was carried on the wings of first time buyers.  Riverside real estate has always been far more affordable than our neighboring counties of Orange and Los Angeles.  We have usually attracted the families who may work in those areas, but needed to buy an affordable home in Riverside…and since first time buyers are generally not the “uber wealthy” with massive amounts of savings, one could assume that Strategic Defaults are not part of our distressed pattern.

Riverside did indeed have its share of “trade-up” purchases where the $300,000 seller moved up to the $500,000 home, and the $500,000 seller moved up to the $1,000,000 home etc.  However,  our experience was that the more expensive homes used a very large down payment from the equity of the buyers previous home, which would act as a buffer against Strategic Defaults.  In this example, the million dollar home has taken an equity hit like everyone else, but they still have equity…just not as much as when they bought the home.

Therefore, while I am sure we have had some Strategic Defaults in the Riverside area, my best guess is that they represent a very low proportion of the foreclosures.  I would think that this would be a far greater issue in areas where the entry level housing price was far above the level reached in Riverside, and where buyers had very high incomes and could qualify for the very low down payment loans available at that time.  I have no data, but this sounds like Orange County and parts of Los Angeles County to me, not Riverside.

Anyway, sorry for the lack of factual data on this subject, and I hope I haven’t irritated too many of those residents of our neighboring counties (although they bag on the IE often enough that “what goes around comes around” might fit here)…but for once, we will be happy to let those areas take the real estate lead on this topic.

Take care, and thanks for reading what I write, and writing about what you want to read.

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…While we have expounded on today’s subject matter before in previous blogs, it’s been a while…and an article that appeared in the Press Enterprise Newspaper on Tuesday, July 27 is a perfect example of why any reader of any real estate information from any source should know if the subject matter is from a national viewpoint or a local viewpoint.  The reason that this is so critical for the Riverside area is that national statistics have almost no bearing on our local market…but if the reader is not careful, they will get the wrong idea on what is really happening in our neighborhood.

The article in question in Tuesday’s paper was titled Homebuyers surpass expectations and what really caught our eye was the following sentence from the third paragraph:

“Even so, increasing foreclosures are swelling the number of unsold existing homes, putting pressure on prices and keeping buyers on the sidelines…”

While we cannot comment on the validity of this sentence on a national level, almost every word of that sentence is the exact opposite of what is happening in our Riverside/Inland Empire area. 

Let’s breakdown the sentence and discuss it a bit.

“Increasing foreclosures are swelling the number of unsold existing homes…”  Oh my goodness…has anybody been reading our previous blogs?  Our inventory here in Riverside is falling faster than Mel Gibsons script offers, as the banks are sitting on their foreclosures and hoarding them like Scrooge McDuck hoards his money.  We have no swelling inventory, and our number of unsold existing homes is minimal.  Our previous blogs on the latest MLS statistics bear this out.  No Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore, and our foreclosures are not swelling anything but the bank drawers in which they reside.

“…putting pressure on prices…”  The word pressure assumes that the large number of foreclosures are causing prices to go lower as they flood the market, etc.  Again, maybe nationally, but certainly not here.  Our prices in the lower price ranges ($100,000-$300,000) are actually rising in many areas, and even our upper ranges are getting slightly better.  Don’t misunderstand us…prices still have a long way to go before anyone says they “are back”…but based upon our latest statistics we showed in our previous two blogs, pricing is not feeling any pressure to go down at the moment.  Quite the contrary.

“…and keeping buyers on the sidelines..”  Wow…another statement from an alternate real estate universe.  In our Riverside area, we have far more buyers than inventory, and they are all fighting over the same pieces of cheese.  We need more houses to sell, period.  The only thing that is possibly keeping buyers on the sidelines is the frustration of having to compete with so many other buyers in the bidding wars that are taking place on most properties.  Trust us…at today’s interest rates and prices, buyers are chomping at the bit to be able to purchase a home.  If this is the sidelines, I’d hate to see the game!

In the end, we do not fault the Press Enterprise for the article.  As we said, the information may be totally accurate for other parts of the country…but just not here…and that is our point.  In today’s world, we are constantly bombarded with information from a variety of sources, and it is critical that we as a consumer understand the difference between a national phenomena and a local one…because at least in the real estate business, it can make the difference between you getting a home, or “waiting the sidelines”  for prices to fall from “all the foreclosures” that are coming…because for now, that dog won’t hunt…at least not in Riverside.

Take care, and thanks for reading.

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…Last week, we posted some information about the inventory stats for the 1st half of 2010 as opposed to the 1st half of 2009, and then drew some conclusions based on that data.  One of our regular readers asked if we could do the same for closed escrows.  Well….sure, and we can even break it down by price.  Take a look below.

Closed Escrows in Riverside California by Price Range

(note:  columns are straight when I type them, crooked when they get posted…what can I say?)

Price                                   Jan-June, 2009                         Jan-June, 2010

$100K-200K                            1349                                            1080

$200K-300K                            656                                                684

$300K-400K                            266                                                246

$400K-500K                            104                                                  82

$500K-600K                             31                                                    34

$600K+                                      27                                                    28

Totals                                         2433                                               2154

As you can see, the total closings in our area are down this year by 279 (11.5%) when compared to the same 6 month period of 2009.  However, given that the total inventory for 2010 is down 44% (see previous blog post) compared to the 1st 6 months of 2009, then a 11.5% drop in closings is really pretty good (sounds like the government and some of their statistics, eh?).

Political quips aside, this much lower than anticipated drop in closings really shows that our local Riverside area real estate market is stabilizing.  We have such a pent-up demand for housing that our real problem is the lack of homes to sell.  Think about it.  We have almost 5,000 less homes for sale (again, see previous blog), and far more buyers that want to purchase a home.  The net result is that the only reason our closing numbers are down from 2009 is that we simply cannot find enough houses to satisfy all the families that want to buy.  Give us a supply of homes that meets the demand, and you would see the closing numbers run off the chart.

In the end, this will ultimately balance itself out…it always does.  However, the big question is when? No crystal balls here, but our hope is that the banks cut loose with the inventory they have been sitting on for over a year, and that Realtors can do what they do best…help people buy homes.  Until then, we will all continue to make housing lemonade out of (the lack) of housing lemons, so to speak.

Take care, and if you have any questions, or need any additional stats on our area, just let us know.

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside,California…We had one of our regular readers contact us and ask if there was any way to compare the number of homes for sale this year as opposed to 2009.  Seems they have been reading a lot about the reduced inventory in our area, but wanted some actual statistics.  Well my faithful reader, ask no more…we’ve got what you want.

Let’s start with the chart of numbers below (and yes, I know it will come out crooked on your screen…the columns are straight on mine when I type it, but crooked when you read it…what can I say?…computers!)

Properties For Sale in Riverside

                    2009          2010

Jan.             2385          1034

Feb.             2238          1095

Mar.            2106           1115

Apr.             1883           1068

May             1646           1167

Jun.              1332           1075

So, what have we got here?

First, the totals for the first half of 2009 are over 5,000 homes higher than for the first half of 2010, which means that all those stories you hear about the drastically reduced inventory in 2010 are true.  The numbers for 2010 are down by 44%.  That is huge.

Secondly, you can notice that the drop in monthly inventory began in around April of 2009, which means that the numbers for the 2nd half of this year won’t be so dramatic when compared to the 2nd half of 2009.  You can see that the amount of houses for sale in Riverside in June of 2009 had already fallen by over 1,000 compared to the beginning of the 2009 year.

Since our listing inventory is down, does that mean the number of sales are down as well?  Yes…but not nearly by as much as the listings. 

Closings for the 1st half of 2010 are only down 11.5% when compared to the 1st half of 2009.  Why?  Because the demand for housing is so strong in our area that the multitude of buyers who want to purchase a home are keeping our market stabilized.  Things might be different in other parts of the country, but here in Riverside, our demand is strong for housing.  Granted, most of the buyers are entry level families purchasing in the price ranges below the $300,000 level, but hey…everyone starts somewhere…and every purchase is good for our market.

So…to our valued reader who wrote in for stats…we hope this is what you were looking for…and if not, let us know.  We’ll find whatever you need.

Thanks for reading.

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…Catchy title to today’s blog, eh?  But in reality, it let’s us discuss one of the most important and yet overlooked parts of your real estate purchase….your choice of who will handle your new loan.  Yes, your lender is by far the most important player in your transaction. 

Ok…we get it that without you as the buyer, there would be no loan necessary, but we are trying to make a point here, and that point is simply this:  Your lender better be professional, up to speed with all the massive changes that take place in the loan world daily, and most of all, they better be able to deliver what they promise.  If not, it’s goodbye home ownership, and hello rental.

The loan world today is a complete and total mess.  In the “good old days” (make up you own definition for that), getting a loan was as easy a chatting with Banker Bob, filling out some forms, and getting the loan for your home.  Alas, that process has gone the way of Malt Shops and flattop haircuts.  Now, the paperwork alone kills at least 3 trees, and the amount of loan programs that you have to choose from requires a skilled loan professional to navigate the ever-changing waters.

So how do you tell if you are getting a really good loan professional?  Here’s a few tips…and understand that before we begin, Westcoe Realtors has no lending branch with our office, or any other type of financial relationship with any lender.  We are neutral…Switzerland, and are only interested in what is best for you.  So what follows is based upon our experience, not our pocketbook.

First, stay away from the internet in picking your new lender.  Most internet based lenders have figured out that potential internet customers are interested in only one thing…the interest rate….and while that is naturally important, the interest rate is only as good as the ability of the lender to deliver it at closing.  Our experience is that since internet lenders know buyers shop interest rates solely, the “promised” rate can many times change near the close of escrow…and by then, the buyer will lose the house if they don’t close, so they wind up getting a higher interest rate than expected.  So…beware of promised rates that are lower than everyone else.  There may be more to the story.

Secondly, interest rates are important, but do not ignore the costs.  Understand that loan offerings are a combonation of costs and interest rates.  For example, today’s fixed 30 year interest on a loan would be near 4.75%, with minimal costs….but you can also obtain a 3.5% rate if you want…but it will cost you a lot more to get it.  It is all a formula that lenders can use, and the bottom line is that you can pay them a lot of money now to get a lower rate, or a little money now for a higher rate.  The choice is yours, but just understand that costs go with rates…and you need to understand the costs involved with any loan.

Next, it is generally better to use someone you know, or are referred to, than someone you don’t.  Since there is so many differences between lenders and lender programs, your best bet is to always use an individual that has a vested interest in keeping you happy.  Let’s face it…there is a big difference between someone who will have to continually see you if they break their promises to you regarding your loan, than with a person who will never be a part of your world once the transaction is over.  That doesn’t mean you ignore the rate and costs mentioned above, but all things being equal, a known or referred lender will trump an unknown most every time.

Lastly, trust your instincts.  If you meet with your lender and do not get a good feeling when you are done, walk away and find a new one.  The beginning of your loan process is like a honeymoon…things should be all peaches and cream…but if your cream smells sour, the rest of the process will not generally get any better.  Your lender should take all the time needed to answer all of your questions, and if they don’t, or are in too big of a hurry, or like using all of their lender buzzwords to impress you, or are vague about the costs, or say things like “trust me” without anything in writing, or cannot give you a list of past satisfied customers, etc…then run Forest run.  Ask the other professionals in your life (attorney, accountant, Realtor, escrow professional, etc)…they will all have someone they trust to help you.

If you are represented by a Realtor in your purchase transaction, usually they have formed relationships with lenders because they have discovered the lenders with the best service, rates, and costs.  They have done your shopping for you.  You don’t have to use them, but if you trust your Realtor (and you should, or why are you using them?), then you can generally trust their lender.  However, as we said earlier, the choice is yours.

Sometimes we have clients who have come from a previous relationship with a Realtor in which the agent was also the lender, or the Realty company also had a lender branch of the company, and these clients are wary of the relationships.  Guess what…they should be.  Westcoe does not have a lending arm to our corporation, or allow our agents to be loan reps for a reason…We do not feel one size fits all!  It is our humble opinion that lenders should stick to lending (too complicated to do on a part time basis), and Realtors should stick to real estate (again, too complicated to do on a part time basis).  

Also, most Realtors have at least 2 lenders they recommend because we know that one lender cannot offer all the programs that may be best suited for a particular buyer.  We need choices…and many times a real estate lending branch cannot offer all the choices necessary.  Those real estate companies that have a lending arm will tout the “one-stop shopping” theory as a way to make it easier for their clients, but we don’t subscribe to that thought process.   It is a matter of choice, but we do not see how a small, real estate company can truly compete with the direct lending banks for loan rates, costs, or programs.

In the end, all we want you to understand is the vital importance a lender plays in your real estate purchase.  Hopefully, your loan process will go smoothly, and you will get the loan you want, at the rate and costs you expect, from someone who provided you with good service to get it all done.  Those people are out there, you just need to find them…and if you are having trouble, call us.  We’ll give you our best recommendations…remember…we’re Switzerland on this issue, but we are glad to help.

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…In stepping away from our usual content in this blog, since we are so close to our Nation’s July 4 birthday, today I will offer some words that have absolutely nothing…and absolutely everything…to do with real estate.  Next week, we’ll go back to normal…but today, the soapbox.

For most of us, this weekend will be filled with all the traditions that mark the July 4 holiday.  Ballgames, picnics, golf, family, beach, fireworks (for gosh sakes, don’t forget the fireworks), etc.  These are wonderful reminders of our way of life, and are important celebrations that continue to form the fabric of being an American.  Your celebrations or traditions may be different than those above, but whatever they are, you are free to celebrate in whatever fashion you choose…and that is the beauty of July 4…and the meaning of July 4 as well.

For the key word in that last sentence is the word “free”.  We are free in our country to do so many things that are not free, or available, in other countries of the world.  Far better writers than I have expounded on our freedoms and how they were earned, but July 4 is one of those days in which, hopefully, we pause if only for a moment to say thanks and pay tribute for all the sacrifices that have been made so we can celebrate our freedom. 

Most of us do not get out of bed every morning and give thanks for all that we have.  It is human nature to  charge though the day with the irritations of our lives taking on far more importance than they should.  Perhaps that is why we have holidays…so that even while we picnic with family, there is a moment for contemplative thought on how lucky we all are to live in America.  Hopefully, you will have such a moment this weekend.

For those of us in the real estate business, we too are human in that far more often that we should, we forget about how fortunate we are to live in a country where home ownership is not determined at birth.  In our country, no one says you cannot own property or a home.  No one says that due to your life status, the pride in owning your home is a feeling you will never know.  No one forbids you to set your own roots in your own community, pass your home on to your children and their children, or takes your home from you because of a change in government regime.

Yes, we all have complaints about our governmental leaders at times (Republican or Democrat), but while leaders may come and go, the fundamental right to own property is as central to our American existence as breathing. 

We all know that the past few years have been difficult on so many people…especially in our real estate world.  And there is no doubt, the loss of homes by many Americans has been tragic…but what keeps us putting one foot in front of the other is the belief that better times are ahead, and that one day, the promise of owning another home is on the horizon.  Our future, no matter how hazy it may appear, always contains hope….because the freedoms we enjoy in our country always allow us to hope.

Hope for a day with no soldiers under fire…hope for a better economy and jobs for those who are willing to work.  Hope for a country that leaves things better than how we found them, and yes…hope that the real estate world begins to make sense soon.

So…please accept from us at Westcoe our best wishes for you and your family on America’s birthday, and enjoy the freedoms we will all exercise this weekend.