I find it difficut to write this summer. In part, it’s because I see a dislocation in the market that I’d rather keep between me and my clients. Want to know what it is? Email me and let’s start to work together… It’s also due to the fact that I’m wildly busy, which is good, I guess. I’ve also been contemplating a some-day retirement from this busines which would only be volunteered because it’s actually a significant amount of work to keep both on the offensive and defensive, as I seek to grow the business sorta but also to defend my market share. I’m also trying to parent adult children, which is far more difficult than I ever imagined. I thought the hard part of parenting was when your kids were little. What an absurd theory. The real challenge is in finding a parenting style that encourages, admonishes, teaches, supports, chastises and abides adult children who may or may not be doing what you think they should be doing.
There’s also the bit about commissions and the NAR settlement that’s bothersome and tedious but not at all concerning. What a terrible time to be a corporate brokerage… Oh, and I’m wondering if I want to wage war against the concept of the MLS now that an MLS can no longer be used to share offers of broker compensation. If we don’t need the aggregating portal to view listings, and we don’t need to share proprietary compensation offers, then what is it? A cash machine that benefits from an old timey mentality that suggests agents somehow “need” an MLS? Yes, I think that’s exactly what it is and so I’m wondering about burning the whole concept to the ground. I probably won’t, but I think about it sometimes.
The market at the lake has been enduring a rather sluggish 2024, but has rebounded as of late. Lakefront buyers are plentiful, and even though the majority of buyers are far less motivated than they once were, the market is still moving and deals are still printing. I have three residential lakefronts pending sale at the moment. One of those is on market and two are off, which is your late-summer reminder than even though the market has calmed down it’s still potent and still performing off market. The most vocal opponents of off market sales are glad to pursue them when it’s their business that benefits, which I find funny. There was a sale recently in the South Shore Club around $5M that transacted off market. There is another sale pending in the South Shore Club today, and a private lakefront in Fontana awaiting closing. The market is moving, but the market today is nothing like it was in 2022. Buyers hear that and think prices should be lower. Sellers hear that and think they should be higher. I hear that and think buyers and sellers should call me and we’ll make the deal work somewhere in the middle and then we can discuss that market dislocation I see…
Above, my listing at 8 Hillside, freshly pending sale.