News, Notes & Nuggets

Bringing you all the current happenings in the life of your favorite real estate agent, plus fundraisers, events, and of course…the real estate market.

On a Personal Note

We found Savannah a home!

It took some time, and a lot of posts on Nextdoor, but I finally found Savannah her forever home with some really sweet dog lovers in Fairfield. They have a little chihuahua that she gets along with really well, a nice yard, and a great house for running around. I hope she has a wonderful life there. We’ll miss her, but we’re very happy that she’s found her people.

As for me and Amanda, it’s been a very busy spring and summer. Work has been tremendously busy for us both. I am still in awe of how much she works, even in summer. Luckily, we were able to successfully get away for a little staycation in San Francisco when then Cubs were in town to catch a few games and play tourists. We’re healthy, happy, and enjoying life.

I had hoped to get this newsletter out mid-July, but with all the changes coming to the real estate world, which went into effect mid-August, I thought it would be prudent to wait until the dust had settled a bit before emailing. I hope you’ll read down to the Real Estate Market Highlights section for the current state of affairs with the NAR settlement and MLS rule changes.

And, just in case you skip past the Work In The Community section, if you’re looking for something to do next Saturday, Sep 7, come on out to the Petaluma River Craft Beer Festival, where yours truly will be part of a trio playing a short set of cover songs.  See below for more details and ticket info.

WORK IN THE COMMUNITY

Food For Thought Food Bank. I am proud to sit on the Board of this wonderful organization. FFT provides food and nutritional support to people throughout Sonoma County who have serious medical conditions. They have an amazing facility in Forestville where people can come collect no-cost groceries and prepared meals, and they also deliver food all over the county to folks in need. Volunteers pack and deliver groceries and host food drives at their local supermarkets, and there are a tremendous amount of other opportunities to help. I would encourage you to visit our website at fftfoodbank.org and sign up to receive our monthly newsletter, The Dish.

COTS – The Committee On The Shelterless. They are one of the primary providers of services for the shelterless around Sonoma County. They run the Mary Isaak Center in Petaluma and provide job services, housing, meals, and more to our neighbors and residents who are most in need. Visit cots.org for more information about the organization and how you can get involved.

Petaluma River Craft Beer Festival 2024 September 7, yours truly will be part of a trio performing at the Petaluma River Craft Beer Festival. There are going to be a couple more practiced musical acts performing, and we’ll be kind of a “tweener” group, playing a short set of songs. This is a fundraiser for Rotary Club and the Petaluma Chamber of Commerce and a really fun day on the river, with over 20 breweries serving up their fines, along with some delicious food vendors. For more info and/or tickets, CLICK HERE.

Dining Out For Life 2024 Dining Out For Life is a really fantastic fundraiser in support of Food For Thought. Think of it as a massive, Sonoma County-wide dine and donate. This past year 72 restaurants around the county donated 25% – 100% of their days’ proceeds to FFT and raised over $200,000. We’re working on restaurant and ambassador recruiting for next year already, so let me know if you’d like to get involved. And when you’re making your dining choices, please consider the restaurants who give back so much to the community. CLICK HERE for this past year’s list of sponsors. SAVE THE DATE! This year’s DOFL will be on Thursday, Dec 5, 2024.

Coats for COTS Coat Drive 2024 I have been hosting this coat drive with my clients and neighborhood for 7 years now, and it is truly a labor of love. Every year, just after Thanksgiving, I go door to door in my neighborhood letting folks know I will be collecting coats on a given date, usually the 1st or 2nd Saturday in December. The community comes out in droves to bring me their lightly used coats, outerwear, and blankets. It’s great to see everyone, and the folks over at COTS really appreciate all we do for them. Coats for COTS 2024 date is still TBD, but keep it in mind as you’re doing your spring cleaning, and let me know if you have something for me for later in the year. Thank you for your participation and support!

Sonoma Strong Sriracha 2024 Hot, sweet deliciousness in support of a great cause. Last year’s batch of Sonoma Strong raised $16,000 for the Redwood Empire Food Bank. Last I had heard, they were hoping to brew the next batch in October. If you’re interested in a bottle or 3, let me know, and I can hook you up. You can learn more about what they’re up to and follow on the socials from this link: https://linktr.ee/sonomastrongsriracha

CUSTOMER APPRECIATION EVENTS

Taco Picnic in the Park

It was so great seeing so many of you at the Taco Picnic this year!  ***SAVE THE DATE*** for next year’s picnic, which should be either May 31 or Jun 1…probably May 31.

Century 21 Epic Customer Appreciation Event

Our annual customer appreciation party was really fun this year. I was so excited and appreciative to see a few clients who were able to make it out. And, for the first time in my 7 years with this office, they let me make the playlist. Next year’s event will be a Thursday in mid-July.

REAL ESTATE MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

THE MARKET GENERALLY

It has been an interesting time in the market these last few months. Homes are sitting on the market a bit longer than we’re used to, especially in the luxury and acreage markets, and prices have actually come down more than we typically see this time of year. Interest rates have also come down a bit. With the election right around the corner, I don’t predict it will be a fall boom for the real estate world. This could be a good couple months for buyers.

THE NAR SETTLEMENT AND NEW MLS RULES

The new Multiple Listing Service rules went into effect August 17. You may have heard a bit about this already, but it’s been confusing even for those of us on the inside, so I wanted to share with you what has changed and how things will look going forward.

• As a buyer’s agent, I will now need to have a Buyer Representation Agreement signed with any buyer before I begin work on their behalf, beyond the level of just sending over listings and links to disclosures. Essentially, I can send links, but once it comes time to analyzing disclosures or rents or showing a buyer a house, for example, we will have to have a written agreement that covers commission. The Buyer’s Representation Agreement specifies a commission amount and what happens in the event the seller is unwilling to pay the buyer’s agent’s commission, or if they only agree to pay a portion of it.
• Sellers will still be able to, and very likely will in many cases, pay buyer agent commissions, but it is going to be kind of a wild west situation out there in the short term as buyers and sellers figure things out going forward. There will be sellers out there who won’t be willing to pay commissions, or possibly they will only pay a portion, and then buyers will have to be willing and able to pay their representatives on their own. So far, the bulk of the listings that have come on the market since Aug 17 have offered buyer agent commission, but it will be case-by-case.
• Buyer’s Agent commissions will no longer be able to be advertised using the MLS, so there will be a lot more conversation and negotiation about how buyer’s agents get paid going forward. My recommendation to buyers will be that they continue to write their agent’s commission into their offer, but sellers will now have a more transparent ability to factor that into their acceptance decisions.
• For now, I will continue to recommend to my sellers that they plan on paying the buyer agent commission out of the proceeds of their sale (2.5% is recommended), as I believe this will increase the attractiveness of their listing and lead to the best sales price. Over the months ahead, though, we will have more data to back up this strategy or inform us of a different one.
• There has been a lot of confusion out there over open houses and whether or not buyers will have to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement in order to visit an open house. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Do not sign a Buyer Broker Representation Agreement unless you are absolutely certain you want to work with that agent exclusively. You may be asked to sign an Open House Non-Agency Advisory, which is ok. Just make sure you don’t sign anything that discusses commission.

This is all an evolving situation, so we will continue to talk about these things here. And, of course, I would love to hear from you if you want to talk any of this through.