What's New?
2023 was quite the ride - with continued but hopefully waning inflation, a huge increase in mortgage rates, and a lot of speculation for how it might impact the real estate market here in Boulder. So, what actually happened?
Surprise! There were more high end sales in 2023 than in 2022. Overall, prices are still down from the very peak in 2022, but on average, it's up solidly year over year. Inventory has steadily grown but not at all price points and locations. As most of our buyers will you - it's not enough. We're still dealing with a shortage of homes actually worth buying, and when one appears, it's not uncommon to have competition. Thankfully, rates have begun to drop.
What should you expect next year? I'll publish a more thorough analysis of the full year in January, but for now, suffice to say, I wouldn't put much stock in anyone's forecast. With an election looming, multiple rate decreases expected, and a rapidly destabilizing geopolitical landscape, it seems like anything can happen. I'd expect to see higher inventory hold for at least the first few months of the year, but the landscape could change rapidly. Hold on to your hats.
The Future
By standard measures, it was a great year, but one of my biggest realizations in life is that the common yardsticks are often the wrong thing to measure. What you choose to measure really matters.
At House Einstein, success is measured in the depth of service to our clients, colleagues, and to the organizations which we support. It's measured in the quality of human connection, the care we've provided, and the degree to which we've helped our clients achieve their goals. Deals closed and dollars earned are useful to track but don't adequately capture the true essence of success.
As the year wrapped up, we took stock at our annual retreat. In the last decade, we've come far as a company, and also in the richness of how we individually approach our lives. These among other realizations were outcomes of our retreat in New Orleans this month.
Ray Dalio, one of my favorite authors and founder of Bridgewater Associates, wrote, "Don't hire people to fit the first job they will do; hire people you want to share your life with." The next twenty years of real estate may look quite different than the last twenty, but one thing is clear; I'm grateful for the opportunity to work alongside such tremendous humans. A shared and authentic commitment to principles, executed with a high degree of ethics, integrity, and morality is a rare thing. The future looks bright, indeed.
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Osman Parvez is the Founder and Employing Broker of House Einstein. Originally from the Finger Lakes region of New York, he lives in Boulder with his wife and their Labrador Retriever. He has been a Realtor since 2005.Osman is the primary author of the House Einstein blog with over 1,200 published articles about Boulder real estate. His work has also appeared in many other blogs about Boulder as well as mainstream newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and Daily Camera. For more information, click HERE.
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The ideas and strategies described in this blog are the opinion of the writer and subject to business, economic, and competitive uncertainties. House Einstein strongly recommends conducting rigorous due diligence and obtaining professional advice before buying or selling real estate.
