Reflections on Music and Bell Tolls of Sacramento Real Estate

This morning I’m thinking about music and for whom the bell tolls in Sacramento real estate. Way to make an old person feel old is to read headlines in the About.com newsletter: What to bring to a music festival. If you don’t know, maybe you don’t deserve to go. Oh, damn, I left my stash at home, along with my sunscreen, whatever shall I do? Most of the music festivals I ended up at like Kickapoo Creek were all at the spur of the moment. Hey, ya wanna go? Yah, sure, why not? Perhaps I should put on some clothes?

From Aerosmith to Tori Amos, the nostalgic ’90s tour. Hey, the 1990s were my second wave of really good music, after moving out of the 1960s, and now it’s nostalgic? Crap. Plus, I hate to tell those guys but Aerosmith to Amos is still in the A’s, they didn’t move very far. Whatever happened to ZZ Top? Oh, right, they morphed into those Duck Dynasty guys. I can’t tell them apart. I doubt anybody else can either.

You miss a lot when you’re an agent selling real estate in Sacramento. If you sell a lot of homes like I do, something has got to give in your life. You can’t do it all. There are priorities. Fortunately, I have a husband who continually introduces me to new music or I would live in a perpetual vacuum.

I noticed also this morning that my number of listings in Sacramento are quickly dwindling and moving into pending sales, which means I need to pump up new listings. Back in the old days, like a couple of years ago, it wasn’t unusual for me to manage 70-some listings, but due to the low housing inventory in Sacramento this spring, that number has dropped into single digits. I’m still on target to sell another 100 homes this year, just like last year, which amazes me even as I type. It sounds so unreal.

The price points are up in Sacramento real estate, however. That’s excellent news for sellers. And I sold two more homes over Memorial Day Weekend, which will make for a huge June closing month, in the double digits. Just about any real estate agent can flip a home into escrow these days; it’s getting those sales closed that takes extra effort and expertise. Laser-sharp focus. Fortunately, I have 40 years of real estate experience under my belt to draw upon.

A client emailed me over the weekend to say she is ready to start looking for a home to buy. I have hundreds of clients who have sold their homes as a short sale a few years ago and now some want to buy a new home. She was delighted that I immediately responded to her request and commented on how much she appreciates that level of service, just like the old days. That’s what a top Sacramento real estate agent does. She responds and doesn’t leave people waiting.

And then she fondly recalls that long ago summer cruise down the St. Croix River with the Goo Goo Dolls. It seems just like yesterday.