Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

    February 2024 Colleen,   If we only listened to the news our outlook on the world and our prospects for happiness would be pretty bleak... Hopefully, you know that a positive vision and balanced understanding that everything is constantly changing and evolving makes our possibilities really limitless. Go ahead, pursue your goals. You might just succeed!    If your goals involve real estate, I'm here to help!    February - Ponder this,  “What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?” – Eleanor Roosevelt - Something about the ambition of January resolutions makes me sad about the reality of change. February is a month of hope - if I'm still doing the thing I resolved to do, then I am stronger and better for my effort. I feel like I can't fail now!   As always, I am here for you, your family, and friends.   Your Forever Agent,    Hope Leitner, CRS, CalDRE #01874321 Hope Opens Doors   Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, California Properties Christie D. Horn and Assoc

Have you been trying to   buy a home , but higher   mortgage rates   and   home prices   are limiting your options? If so, here’s some good news – based on what Ali Wolf, Chief Economist at   Zonda , has to   say   – smaller, more affordable homes are on the way: “Buyers should expect that over the next 12 to 24 months  there will be a notable increase in the number of entry-level homes available .” In some ways,  smaller homes  are already here. When the pandemic hit, the meaning of home changed. People needed the space their home provided not only as a place to live, but as a place to work, go to school, exercise, and more. Those who had that space were more likely to keep it. And those that didn’t were in a position where they were trying to sell their smaller house to move up to a larger one. That meant the homes coming to the market during the pandemic were smaller than those on the market before the pandemic – and that trend continues today ( see graph below ): This graph also  s

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties Top Benefits of Having Kids Share a Room If you have or plan to have children and you’re shopping for a new home, one of the most important deciding factors will likely be the number of bedrooms. While many parents seek out homes that are large enough for each child to have his or her own room, some choose to have their children share bedrooms because of the clear benefits. It Teaches Important Social Skills Sharing a bedroom with a sibling teaches kids respect. Children who share rooms have to learn to respect each other’s belongings, space, and need for peace and quiet. They need to learn to clean up after themselves, to share possessions, to respect each other’s privacy and to keep the noise level down so a sibling can study or sleep. Respect for others will be valuable when children go off to college and share a room with a new roommate or when they live with a spouse or partner in