The summer is doing to me what summers often do to me. It’s making me rushed. The summer is rushed, and I am rushed. RUSHED, the word on my tombstone. There are too many deals and too many calls and too many appointments and too many evenings where I know I should go to the lake to sail or to swim, but I feel that this desire, too, makes me feel even more rushed. The Summer Of Dave? I don’t think so.
But the market, man. The market. It’s ripping again. The spring was slow and tedious. The question on my mind, on your mind, lingered… Is this bull market fatigue finally getting the best of us? In the same way that we subconsciously root for strife when there is none, do we not root for a market adjustment when there has been none? The answer for me is yes. A resounding yes. A screamed YES. In the spring my wish appeared to be something I could envision. Today? Mere foolish springtime hallucinations. The market thought about pausing in April and by July it decided it would have none of it. Meet your July Market: It’s rushed.
Contracts are flying. Listings are few. New inquiries in my inbox easily outpace any July I can remember. Buyers are still being odd, and sometimes getting mad. You didn’t get the house you bid on? I’m sorry about that, but I have a quiz for you today. If there is one house and there is one buyer, how many buyers are happy on the day of the closing? The answer is obvious because we’re intelligent. One. Just one buyer is happy on that day. If that same house had four buyers, and there were four offers, for that one house, how many buyers are happy on that closing day? The answer remains one. Because the number of buyers is irrelevant when we’re considering just one seller. I learned in July that buyers get mad when they don’t win a bid, which is not unique to 2026, nor is it unique to human behavior. We all want a trophy, dammit.
For my bit of involvement in the summer market, I have a contract pending on Allegheny. That’s nice. I also have a contract pending on my lakefront at Pier 808. That’s also nice. I have a contract pending on an off market lakefront on the south shore, which is nice. And I have a contract pending on my Creekside modern home in Academy Estates. Equally nice. There are contracts elsewhere, too. Lots of pending sales in the primary market at all price ranges and plenty more in the vacation home segment. If it’s for sale this summer there’s a good chance it’s going to sell, and if not sell, then at least field offers. The market today is hot, and again I ask the question that I ask time and time again: Why shouldn’t it be?
Equity markets are near or at all time highs. Private Equity continues to throw money at owners of small, medium, and large companies. Crypto is a bust this summer, but who cares? The expensive car market is raging. Risk is on in most categories. Why shouldn’t some of that attitude make its way to a more stable asset in which you can also sleep? It should, and it is. The summer market is churning and firing and with another week of sunshine and 90 degree temperatures, there is absolutely no end in sight. See you at the lake.