| Greetings Fellow Life Travelers: Winter at last with a significant start to the season this week and more to come starting Sunday. Snow guns are going full steam at the resorts, so it’s expected that most will open by Thanksgiving. Another big blast could even speed that up! Chain control on this week, and I saw that trucks were held in Auburn probably to circumvent the plethora of big rigs jack-knifing and causing havoc on Int 80 we saw last winter. That still didn’t eliminate all the accidents but I’m sure it helped. Pretty quiet around here right now; without skiing, there’s not an impetus to drive up when the weather looks iffy. Let’s see if the Goblins put a damper on real estate activity this week. Residential Real Estate – week 10/29 – 11/4 Tahoe Sierra MLS – North/West Shores & Truckee. New listings – 16; Escrows – 14; Solds – 11 Incline Village/Crystal Bay MLS. New Listings – 1; Escrows – 2; Solds – 2 East Shore, NV MLS. New Listings – 3; Escrows – 1; Solds – 4 Reno/Sparks MLS. New Listings – 107; Escrows – 112; Solds – 118 Either the Goblins or upcoming elections did put a bit of a damper on sales activity. All three of the new listings on the East Shore are Chase’s, with two adjoining lakefronts ($39.995M and $7.995M) available to be purchased together for $45M. I forgot to mention last week that a fixer lakefront in Incline Village came on at $25M…no buoy or pier but buoy probably possible to get. Just waiting for coverage info to see what might be done with the property. Local/Real Estate/Luxe For real estate show aficionados, Buying Beverly Hills debuted on Netflix Nov 4. Touted to be real, as opposed to staged, it’s Mario Umansky’s (The Agency) own family along with newer agents in the business – their struggles and successes as they learn. Prepare for dark early! Fall back an hour on Sunday night; easier to get up in the morning, and easier to go to bed early. TRPA Change. With Joanne Marchetta stepping down as executive director, Julie Regan has been offered the position. She’s a current deputy director and has held an executive role with the agency since 2003. The confirmation vote will take place Nov 16. Another off-market deal in Aspen: $48M for a developer’s home that was last listed in early 2020 for $31.5M.In spite of rising inventory across the US, list prices are still on the rise. This is challenging as interest rates are also still rising, bringing a hit to home-buying power. Buying challenges are prompting migration to more affordable metro areas, per Redfin.com. San Diego and Portland, ME are two areas getting lots of interest. Little Rock, Des Moines, Kansas City, Omaha, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Tulsa…..more stable, affordable.Measure ULA, “mansion tax” is a LA ballot measure for the upcoming election. If passes, would incur a one-time transfer tax on commercial and residential real estate sales valued at/over $5M. Californians already pay substantial taxes upon sale (unless the capital gains aren’t enough to qualify). Proponents say it will generate more than $900M/year to help address its intense homeless problem. Obviously, those against say that more than $1B in annual taxes are already generated by LA area sales, and Angelenos already raised taxes by $1.2 billion with Measure HHH to address homelessness.Encouraging guidance from OMG lenders indicates that interest rates should start coming down in 2023. With more inventory on the market now, this may be a good time to take advantage of a less competitive market and refinance when the rates recede. Centi-millionaire = one who maintains $100M – or more – in investable assets. In the late 1990s, $30M was considered the fortune to mean you’d never have to worry about money again. The highest number reside in the US at 38%, with China and India following. Lamb Chop had a bath and, after drying, was immediately taken out into the snow. Dancer didn’t try to bury it but left it there. Now dried off again, she walked right by it. So not sure if the bloom is off the rose, or if she’s letting me know not to mess with her Lamb Chop, until now her favorite toy. Entertainment Living in San Miguel. Following up on my last week’s Report, I thought this Interview with a lovely woman who moved there with her family a few years ago would be interesting for anyone thinking about visiting or moving to San Miguel de Allende: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmlT0hfvf-0 TidBits The best things in life are free. The second-best things in life are very, very expensive. Coco ChanelIn golf, as in life, it’s the follow through that makes the difference. When someone asks what I did over the weekend, I squint and ask, “Why, what did you hear?” Sometimes someone unexpected comes into your life out of nowhere, makes your heart race and changes you forever. We call those people cops. More Washington Post Negligent (adj). Absent mindedly answering the door wearing only a nightgown. Balderdash (n). A rapidly receding hairline. Oyster (n). A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms. Now that Hallowe’en is over, thoughts move to Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Gratitudes, one of Truckee’s local stores, had its holiday preview last evening. The window displays alone are worth a trip to Town! Stay warm as temps dip, and I’ll see you next time! Best wishes, Trinkie |