Brutus and Cassius. Bonnie and Clyde. Boris and Natasha. Milli and Vanilli (hey, many would argue that their assault on our collective auditory faculties was no less nefarious a crime than those already listed). Today, Omicron and Boreas. Indeed, like previous co-conspirators both real and imagined, the latest COVID variant and the Greek god of winter seem to have joined forces in a villainous assault on the measured and honorable order of things. January has been a difficult month and, if you sell real estate for a living, it’s been particularly onerous. My team and I saw sales drop 33% from last year’s lofty totals. This is on the heels of a less-than-stellar December. Our lower sales volume seems to be representative of what is playing out both locally and nationally. Remarkably, there are only 226 homes on the market for sale in Monroe County. In the six-county region there are a paltry 557 homes available to purchase.
Thankfully, today is Ground Hog Day and, if we’re lucky, Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow (or, is it the other way around?). Either way, I’m certain that the Teresi Thesis will prevail and the traditional order of real estate commerce will, once again, be set in motion. I’ve named the thesis after my good friend Jay Teresi, a noted data analyst and all-around good guy who also happens to have graduated from my alma mater, Canisius High School. He has stated that, year in and year out, approximately $2.8 billion in real estate will be sold locally. Some years the number is up slightly, other years, it’s down. There are times when the year is front-loaded and times when it’s a rush to the end. This year it looks as if we’ll have some catching up to do but I’m still predicting that local sales will increase 4%-6%. Either way, I know that I speak for many when I say that I’m looking forward to warmer temperatures and, more importantly, a day in the not-too-distant future when the tragedy of the pandemic is diminished and it transmutes into a less-threatening, endemic menace.
Until then, stay warm. Be safe. And, if you’d like to talk real estate, give me a call at (585) 330-8750.
Photo Source: https://www.kcrw.com/culture/articles/the-operatic-rise-and-fall-of-milli-vanilli