A MONTHLY SPOTLIGHT ON HOW WE GET DEALS DONE.
Dynamic Markets and Relationships
Markets are dynamic yet have felt more stagnant in the last couple of years with unit sales volume shifting dramatically downward. From 2014 through 2020, annual closed sales of homes across the United States skipped around the low-to-mid 5-million-units range.
In the frenzied market of 2021, more than six million units were sold, the first time crossing that threshold since 2006. The music slowed the following year, dropping by one million closed sales and whispered in 2023 to just over four million units sold. Though national forecasts appear brighter, closed sales across Chicago remain down slightly from 2023 with low desirable inventory in neighborhoods where buyers want to live and greater apathy toward dated properties and neighborhoods where they do not.
In a challenging market, the relationships we foster grow even more precious. Relationships between colleagues collaborating on new projects. Relationships with partners, supporting one another in the service of our clients and in the expansion of our businesses. And relationships with those I have the pleasure of serving in the buying and selling of real estate.
Most of my business stems from past clients or personal referrals to new ones. In some cases, I may work with a new client for more than a year before we identify an ideal property, or they are ready to move. Friendships are often formed. Friendships that last for years and move well beyond real estate. In other instances, friendships were forged years before the transaction occurred. Recently, I worked with a couple I have known since our college days at Miami University of Ohio. They reached out to me to help them find a home back in the city after spending a couple of decades in the suburbs raising their children. After a few outings, they settled on a beautiful, Century home on a historic block in Bucktown. To serve friends in this highly personal realm is especially rewarding. I am grateful for those opportunities and am looking forward to parties in that home designed for entertaining.
Markets are dynamic and so are our needs and desires. Later this month, I will be attending my first CHRISTIE’S International Real Estate convention in Beverly Hills. I am excited to personally connect with fellow agents from across the country and the globe, to foster new relationships and establish alliances that will open new pathways to grow my business offerings and serve my clients’ interests more fully.
I look forward to sharing more information after the event. As always, I would love to hear from you and help you any way I can.
