I hope everyone had a happy and healthy Holiday season and have since recovered from the arctic blast that was our local snowmageddon!
The year-end market data was released earlier this month, and as we all know…it’s been a slower year, but home prices are NOT bottoming out as Buyers had hoped. Affordability is still, and I expect will continue to be an issue, but at the close of January, we are seeing more Buyers jumping into the market as we thought might happen at the end of last year. Many were tired of waiting for better interest rates and saved over the past year to offset the higher costs involved.
With Nashville in the Nation’s top 10 markets…I think we will continue to weather rough waters better than other metro areas.
Last month we touched on how the current NAR lawsuits might impact how compensation for REALTORS®️ representing either side of the transaction looks going forward.
There has been confusion about whether Buyers pay for their own representation when the commissions have been paid by the Seller. The list price of a property has always factored in commissions, so the Buyer has always paid for their agent’s expertise, just not as directly as one might assume. The lawsuits seek to change the current structure of the Seller offering cooperating brokerages compensation. For the moment, there are appeals and countersuits from Buyers, who do not want to have to pay even more upfront to be fairly represented.
For more details on how compensation works and what it may mean for you, NAR has provided resources here. I recently co-moderated a panel at the Greater Nashville REALTORS®️ annual installation luncheon discussing with industry experts what the lawsuits may mean for REALTORS®️ going forward, and if you care to dig in, you can watch it here.
We put together a “Family Favorites” cookbook this Christmas as our little ones have flown the nest and are learning to feed themselves. I look forward to adding to it over the years for subsequent editions, but we had to start somewhere. Going through all the old stained recipe cards and clippings and scribbles from relatives and family friends long departed was a bittersweet joy. Everything I made for our holiday dinner buffet came from the book everyone had yet to open, and of all the things we made, I think Pop Artie’s Toffee was a solid favorite, so I thought I should share since it’s easy and delicious.
In case that’s hard to decipher above (I struggled!) here’s how I explained it:
“Not enough information up there. I used dark chocolate vs milk chocolate.
To clarify above: Cook the sugar, butter, water, vanilla over medium heat – when it reaches a golden amber color and hits 300º, then pour into a parchment lined pan (9 x 12 max) and let cool only a little a bit, then top with melted chocolate and toasted pecans.
Once cooled, then cut or break into pieces.”
Enjoy- until next time!
