A rare thing happened this morning.

I slept until 8:30 am.

You might be thinking, “And????”  but if you know me, you know that this is about as rare as seeing an albino deer cross the road. Every day I wake often well before the crack of dawn, generally go like a bat out of hell and hit the pillow anywhere between 7-9 pm. At around 5-6 pm, depending upon the day, you might see me regress to looking like a toddler right before nap time. It doesn’t matter if I don’t sleep well or get to bed late. I still wake up early.

This caught my attention and caused me to review.

Last Friday evening, I landed back in Portland after 3 days of travel to The American Dream Conference and before I could unpack my toothbrush my phone was buzzing and pinging non-stop. By Monday at noon, I had negotiated 2 accepted offers for my buyers and received 13 offers on my new SE Portland listing. I felt like I had taken a ride in the Back to the Future DeLorean time machine and been transported to the smoking hot market of 2021-2022. The crazy thing is that this time a year ago couldn’t have been more opposite. Receiving 13 offers was a memory of the past and getting 3 things under contract in one weekend was a dream.

I guess it is all sort of a dream when I ponder it. It reminds of the principal of Golden Chains and Iron Shackles. This principal states that our mind will always try to move towards pleasure (Golden Chains) and avoid pain (Iron Shackles). The irony is that both have their limitations.

The Golden Chains

There is a serious dopamine hit when you tell your buyer they won out in a multiple offer situation or you deliver 13 offers to your shocked and delighted seller. When these waves come, I happily hop on my board and catch them which sometimes means long hours and a lack of rest. Buyers and sellers are no different. In 2021-22, buyers ate up the low interest rates despite often having to offer 50-100K over list to be the chosen one. Sellers were beaming as buyers lined up at their doors and often ending up in a similar line when it was their turn to buy. A rising market always feels better but doesn’t come without costs.

The Iron Shackles

The recent combo of higher interest rates, changes in Buyer Agent Commission structure and non-stop negative media about the market has put a dark cloud over real estate. Add a divisive election year and it can feel like we are all a rubber band being stretched to capacity. These conditions can illicit feelings of uncertainty, fear, anger and more causing people to pause and wait for it to pass. What I am observing right now is the opportunity in the quiet. It is not the right time for everyone to buy or sell but it is an excellent time for others. As soon as the sun comes back out (interest rates drop or the election passes), buyers will once again step back into the market and competition will do its thing. They say, “Date the rate, marry the house.” You can’t decrease the price that you purchased your home for but you can refinance when rates lower.

I am deeply grateful to be a busy real estate agent in a “quiet” market and happy to work hard and sleep until 8:30am when I can. It is human nature to seek out pleasure and avoid pain. The sweet spot seems to be in recognizing what the opposites have in common. Acceptance takes a lot less energy than resistance.

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