Last week, I shot my 5th American Dream episode on the gorgeous Oregon coast. My vision was sweeping footage of the coast’s raw beauty and a fun visit with my friend Julie at her adorable Cannon Beach surf shack. We would talk surfing at the shack and then hit the beach for a lesson and to catch some waves. Sounds amazing right?

It was all coming together. I had the full vision. Got it OK’d by the network. Figured out the flow. Scheduled with the guests and crew. Prepped the interview questions. Brainstormed my ideas with everyone. Found the perfect dress and shoes. Did the hair and waterproof makeup. Packed it all up in the car including the dog, snacks, wetsuit, 2 changes of clothes, towels, dogfood and toys. That’s what I had some control over.

Then there was the unpredictable coastal weather. One standing rule is that the filming equipment CANNOT get wet!

I called Julie the day before checking in on the marine layer situation in the mornings. Fog is cool but too much not so much. The weather was looking pretty promising. What I had failed to consider was the tides and wave size. Julie said that 5-7 foot waves were predicted that day. When they get to 8 ft. they stop taking people in the water for safety reasons. She said that we had to avoid low tide because the waves would crash in on me.

The shoot time was adjusted.

Now I have been on a board before, but I am by no means an experienced surfer. The waves were bigger than I had ever surfed that day and the pull of the rip tide strong. As we walked out with the board, I could feel the strong pull of the rip tide on my sturdy mountain-climbing legs. It was so strong that my legs ached quickly. All I knew was that with Julie’s help I was going to catch the first 2 waves that came my way.  I do not know what those waves looked like, all I knew was that I was going to ride them. This was my chance.

What does this have to do with real estate? As usual, everything.

In today’s market, I hear a lot of lamenting about timing. “I should have bought earlier when interest rates were low.” “I missed selling at the top of the market when my house was worth more.”  “When are interest rates going to come down again?” “When is housing going to get more affordable?” These are all very understandable thoughts. The truth of it is that we can only plan so much and often end up having to ride the wave that is before us.

Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American Title Company, shared his “wave” forecast of today’s real estate market at an economic forecast I attended last week.

Mark’s “Real Estate Wave” Forecast

 6% will become the new norm.

 When interest rates hit 6%, the dam will burst and buyers will come flooding back into the market driving prices higher.

 10 years of not building enough homes has caused a housing shortage which is keeping prices high especially in west coast cities like Portland. Affordability remains an issue.

  80% of homeowners have an interest rate below 6%.

  Despite it seeming irrational to let go of a 3-4% mortgage rate, people will eventually move. Right now, people are mostly moving because they have to but we will become restless and desire change.

Despite the idealistic idea of “timing the market,” the reality is that we plan the best we can and then jump in when we need to. We have always said at YogaBug that regardless of the outer circumstances, it will all work out perfectly.

Stay tuned for my Cannon Beach American Dream episode and let us know if you or someone you know wants to explore this ever-changing real estate market. We would love to ride the wave with you!