We live near open space, so we have critters. Steve declared a one-man assault a couple of years ago on the bunnies that were trashing his back lawn. Note I say “his”, because the natural order of things prescribes that the man of the house attend to the manly tasks such as plumbing, electrical and landscape maintenance, leaving the woman to nest, hunt and gather (read: hire a housecleaner and visit pizza hut online). So, back to Steve’s war on terrorism. He swiftly built a chicken wire-contained compound that any military installation would envy. The entire perimeter our tiny backyard, or as we call it in California, “acreage”, was soon protected with an attractive mesh barrier to keep the killer rabbits at bay. Unfortunately, the wily critters were motivated, and we can count several on any given morning dining on a buffet of crab grass. I have nightmares involving green beret donning furry creatures being air dropped into our enemy territory.
Most recently, Steve decided it was time to return our back lawn to its former glory once and for all. Forget the fact that my 100 pound puppy, Simon (who has the cognitive skills of a Pet Rock), has all but assured that no grass will grow here again. And my husband, being the big fan of value-engineering, decided on seed rather than sod. My reseeded yard (notice it is mine now) is home at this moment to at least twenty delightful, well-fed birdies.
So what does this have to do with real estate? It proves that desire is a motivater. There are yards that are less the fortress than mine at present, but for some reason the consumers (of our lawn, in this case) like ours best. And they will come.
The market is slow. It is slow from a cyclical perspective and slow from a seasonal one. I hear both arguments on an almost daily basis. “Shouldn’t I wait until Spring when things are more active?” Sure you may enjoy a market with more buyers actively looking, but you will also find many more homes listed which you will compete with. “Aren’t the holidays a bad time to list my home? It is a slow time of year.” Yep, slow indeed. But, second to June/July, Steve and I historically sell more homes in December than any other month, and this year is shaping up to be no different. We attribute this to quality over quantity. If I am seeing your home during the second week of December, I must mean business, since I have so many other, personal commitments competing for my time. I am motivated! As a seller, fewer potential buyers simply means fewer casual shoppers. Waiting to list may mean you miss being exposed to the buyer who is actually looking to buy your home, regardless of the time of year.
Personally, our numbers of showings on our listings are down - Way down. The phones are ringing only infrequently this week. Curiously, however, our online statistics reveal much higher traffic for our listings than over the past several months, including Realtor.com and our website. Our showing traffic in the past seven days: One showing (for all of our listings), and one resulting offer/sale. Statistically speaking, pretty darn dismal. For that one seller, not too shabby. Why did this one home sell, and after a mere week on the market? For the same reason a home sells any month of the year; the buyers were serious about making a purchase, and the home showed well and was priced attractively. In short, their grass was greener and nothing, not even the impediments of the holidays, was going to keep the hungry buyer away.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Jeff Brown
11.28.06 at 9:44 am
Kris - Sometimes I think one of us is channeling the other. We’re buying properties in another state as quickly as we can because of the lack of buyer competition. We also think the supply will increase in the first quarter, but so will demand, at least relatively speaking. We like being among a very few buyers, dealing with motivated sellers.
A 100 pound PUPPY? Steve has apparently come to a gun fight armed with a sprinkler.
Shannon
11.28.06 at 1:41 pm
Tell Steve that what he needs is my kitty Isabel…she was very effective at keeping the bunnies at bay when we were in SD. I would be more than happy to pack her up and ship her out ground to you. Let me know if Steve’s interested!
Kris Berg
11.28.06 at 1:59 pm
Shannon - Thanks for the generous offer, but Steve will be the first to tell you… HELL NO! We already have a cat who absolutely despises Steve. His ego couldn’t possible survive another. BTW, how is life in America’s most affordable city (according to the National Association of Home Builders)?
Steve Berg
11.28.06 at 2:01 pm
Thanks for the offer Shannon, but what I really need is a shotgun. Unfortunately (fortunately for the rabbits), Kris has put firearms under the same prohibition as power tools for me (for my own protection and that of my family and home).
Kris Berg
11.28.06 at 2:18 pm
I love how I (eventually) made a poignant comment about the seasonal real estate market yet Jeff is the only one who can write about anything but rabbits.
Steve Berg
11.28.06 at 4:06 pm
What?? I thought this was the San Diego Rabbit Prevention Blog…
Nelson
11.28.06 at 4:34 pm
After today’s blog, I had to let you know you’re not alone in your fight against the bunny who ate San Diego. I can’t tell you how many bundles of chicken wire I purchased from Home Depot, and that was just the beginning. Oh yes, dug 6 inches underground with heavy rocks on top, they still managed to come for the all you can eat flowers and plants salad bar. I then doubled the wire to make the fence over 4′ tall. This after I chased a rabbit into a corner and when I was just about ready to end his miserable life with a 10 pound boulder, he hopped over the fence and disappeared into the weeds. I was in shock for almost the entire evening and vowed to take it to another level.
I returned to Home Depot and purchased the heavy duty rat trap which is essentially thick cardboard laced with a heavy adhesive. I then stooped to an all time low and borrowed a BB rifle with a night scope attached from one of my daughter’s friends. His name will not be revealed. Every night the same 3 rabbits would gather in the front yard and camp out by the 2 big palm trees and would just eat like they were going to the gas chamber the next morning. On top of that, they would kill whatever grass that was leftover after their digestive system could not process anymore green stuff. I had a Thursday night circled on my calendar as my wife would be gone, it would be the perfect crime. No witnesses and she was already mortified with my civil attempts, so it had to be done without her knowledge. So after sundown, I spread 6 ( @ $5.99 each ) of the rat traps around the palm trees on the grass. Two hours later and 5 peeks over the fence with rifle in hand, still no rabbits.
The clock strikes 9:30 and my doorbell rings. It’s a neighborhood jogger who tells me I have an issue in my front yard. “There seems to be some sort of rabbit stuck to something, rolling around in your driveway” he tells me. Calm and collected I walk outside and suddenly “remember” putting these traps outside because of a “gopher” running wild on my property. The guy begins to lecture me on why I can’t do this because of “innocent creatures such as this.” The whole time he’s speaking the rabbit is flopping all over the driveway, stuck to the cardboard and begins to semi-squeal and scream at the same time. The conversation turns ugly as I toss the guy from my property. Now, what to do with the rabbit ? I can’t throw him in the personal dumpster around the side of the house in fear this guys going to “rat” me out to the authorities. I go inside, get a big green trash bag and toss the sticky varmint into my trunk along with the other 5 traps and drive to Community Park. I pull up next to the big dumpster with the headlights off and end the deed somewhere between a Sopranos and Good Fellas script. ( I’m so dangerous ! )
Next day, there were 4 rabbits. Can’t fight city hall. We moved shortly after that.
Kris Berg
11.28.06 at 4:35 pm
Athol Kay
11.28.06 at 5:29 pm
You guys aren’t fencing the rabbits IN are you? You build a fence with rabbits inside the fence, then the rabbits are all yours….
Kris Berg
11.28.06 at 6:09 pm
Alright, mister smart guy. I KNOW that. If we had fenced them in, there would be 400 rabbits in my back yard by now. Doesn’t anybody talk real estate anymore? I may have to abandon my style of metaphorical writing.
Shannon
11.28.06 at 6:48 pm
How about if I leave the Isabel offer open??!! If memory serves me correctly, Isabel and Steve got along really well. She works wonders with rabbits! She’s not messy about it…she uses intimidation! We’d miss her (NOT!!) , but I love to help out!
Alan and I had to laugh about the reference that we live in “America’s Most Affordable City”! We are still searching for the affordability (besides housing of course)! Our property taxes are the same as what we paid in SD and I refuse to register my car here until my CA expire because it will be just as much as there!! Services that we’ve used have been comparably priced…so I guess it just comes down to housing (and that was A LOT cheaper!!). We should be getting our first snow on Friday…don’t be jealous!
Steve Berg
11.28.06 at 8:29 pm
Shannon: I would love to have Isabel. She was a sweet cat (unlike the local variety). I can’t believe you and Alan would part with her. But once she has exterminated my lawn “problems”, do I have to send her back? Maybe I can send Fluffy to you and Alan. Kind of a feline exchange program. Enjoy that first snow storm. It’s magical, especially around Christmas. It’s the last 3 or 4 storms in March and/or April that get to you.
Steve Berg
11.28.06 at 8:31 pm
Nelson: Where did you say you got that BB rifle? Is it traceable??