Have you ever met a rich sheep🐑 ?

Dear Friends,

It is a fool’s errand to try and time the real estate market. 2019 has been a confusing year bringing about two types of buyers; wolves & sheep. Collective fear kept many buying sheep at bay. 2019 favored bold buyers sensible enough to know that no one can time the market. According to the Oshlan Report, the current 4th quarter has so far seen healthy activity in November and December, most likely due to price cutting, though the quarter is still tracking 7% fewer contracts signed over the same period in 2018.

The biggest surprise of 2019 is my new “expertise”... 

The real estate world has deemed me to be one of the leading experts in millennial buyers as noted in Business Insider, WSJ, and other publications. 

As you read this you may be thinking... ‘is Cindy, that turtle neck wearing, gimlet drinking, lover of a 6 pm dinner, really a millennial?’ The answer is YES, there is a millennial underneath my buttoned-up blazer collection circa 1986. More to come on millennials in real estate; now, on to what you can expect in 2020.

Projected 2020 trends:

• Interest rates will remain low.

• The majority of homes will be purchased by millennials - CNBC.

• The market is driven by buyers’ perceptions. Real Estate Markets and Capital Markets, in general, are driven by confidence. Once much of the uncertainty about the election is lifted, market conditions for sellers’ should improve. 

• NYC Real Estate is unique and millennial-driven by global forces. 2020 promises to be a volatile global year for international issues; i.e., apprehension surrounding Brexit and trade wars. The global unrest will result in uncertainty and likely cause many people to rent next year. 

• Speaking of rentals, the rental market continues to increase. The demand for luxury, amenity-filled buildings, is rising resulting in rent increases upward of 3% as many wealthy New Yorkers opt to rent versus buy. Amenity rich buildings will continue to increase at the fastest pace.

The data shows we are in year four of a declining cycle. Most cycles last seven years. I see 2020 as the golden year for purchasing opportunity. What will 2020 bring to you? 

-Your millennial expert.