Published May 5, 2020
May 2020
This month's real estate blurb is going to be different. As a leader in the Alameda real estate community, I would be remiss if I did not comment on what's happening around us. Instead of searching for the right words, I would like to quote who many would agree is the Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller of the real estate industry, our company's president and CEO, Gary Keller of Keller Williams Realty. The below is taken from a June 2, 2020 interview by Inman Staff Writer, Andrea V. Brambila. Keller said it was "sobering times" and he was "extremely humbled" by current events. Protests against police brutality have spread across the country in recent days in the wake of the killing George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer. "I realized something about myself. I'm not a racist and I'm not a person who discriminates, but I woke up this morning and I realized that just being that way was no longer enough," Keller said. "I realized that from this moment on, I'm forever changed by these events. I have to be anti-discrimination. I have to be anti-racism." Inman said, and Keller agreed, that real estate leaders have a "profound duty" to do more. "We have to become activists." Inman said.
So before I continue I have to say that I personally cannot be a witness and stand on the sidelines and feel bad about another killing, shooting or social injustice. While I shall remain apolitical, I will not be amoral. To remain silent is part of the problem and I hope you agree that lives are at stake, that all lives have value, we are one race on this earth and that to speak up is a start to finding a solution. To be clear, I support the police, but I do not support police brutality. I agree with the peaceful protests, but I do not agree with the looting by the instigators, agitators, opportunists and hopeless individuals. I support leaders who bring us together instead of dividing us. Some real estate agents will be afraid to speak up. They are fearful it will hurt their business or their brand. I am not that agent and I hope I still have your support after what I've said. Ultimately, it is my privilege to serve you.
If we look for good news these days, I'm happy to report that the number of Alameda homes for sale are way up in the month of May. With over a hundred listings on market in May, 37 were new listings. We have 10+ coming soon listings, 35 listings that have accepted an offer and 23 properties have sold. Since the number of sold homes is a lagging indicator due to it taking 15 to 45 days to close a transaction, the data shows us that there will be even greater sales numbers reported in June. What we're seeing is that on average, the sold prices are hardly more than the asking prices. There are a few outliers of course where in some cases homes were priced hundreds of thousands of dollars less than what the house was expected to sell for just to incite a bidding war and a quick sale. The bottom line is that the summer market is the new spring. Pent up demand by buyers and sellers after shelter-in-place see this time right now as the window of opportunity before the possibility of a second wave of Covid-19 comes later this year.
I wish you all safety, security, courage, respect, love, peace and happiness. Together we can make the world a better place. I believe it starts with more awareness and I hope you check out the below video as I have. After seeing it, I reflected on it and did something I never thought I would. I became a member of the NAACP.
