Edney, party of two! Yesterday was the first time in a long time I've been able to go to a restaurant, sit down at an outdoor table, and enjoy being served a nice meal. I saw a friend and even got to chit chat and catch up for a moment, six feet away of course. Ahhhhh... Life was back to normal, at least for a while. What else could make it feel normal again? Beach please! With temps rising the past couple days I'm totally ready to hit the beach and get back to my happy place. Thank goodness they're opening soon! Many parks have already re-opened and people are out and about playing tennis, pickle ball, and going for a nice stroll. We'll take it...
Wanna Go On Another Walk?
We all cope in different ways. Some good, some bad. The other day my wife Tracy and I pumped up our bike tires and went on a ten mile ride. It was beautiful rolling over the top of the IOP ramp and seeing the ocean again. However the po po made us turn around and start pedaling back home. Rude! The following day we went on several walks together and logged a few miles on foot. I think most would say this experience has given us a new appreciation for the outdoors and life's simple pleasures. Certainly true for me. For the most part that's how we're maintaining sanity around here. In times like these I say it's important to say balanced. You can't just have all this extra activity. For instance, a 30 oz. bag of Doritos from Costo will help you do that as I can attest to. Reese's King Size Peanut Butter Cups can also be helpful. Our snacks cabinet is crammed full and pushing capacity and I love it!
Then there's Netflix, thank goodness for Netflix. I still laugh at the thought of Joe Exotic being a household name. Moving on... My mother-in-law got a new dog recently, actually two. Two rescue Poms. Someone in our neighborhood brought home an 8 week old puppy. Cute little pug could hardly make his way up and over the curb at first. What a great thing to devote some of our attention to during this time. Our faith also comes into play and definitely helps keeps us grounded. A couple weeks ago over 50,000 people attended Seacoast church online for Easter. Wow! What a blessing it's been to have that option.
What is Normal?
How long will it take before things are truly back to normal? Will touch become taboo? Will the elbow bump become the new handshake? Two months ago I had never heard of Zoom but it's now in regular use in the Edney household. User tip - If you are on a Zoom call, do not take your mobile device or computer with you to the bathroom. It will be a defining moment! More people are working from home than any other time in history and I believe companies will begin to see a culture change in that aspect. Ordering food online has also become a regular occurrence for us. Chipotle app to the rescue! Wearing masks will become somewhat the norm I think, at least on airplanes, grocery stores, and other public venues. No one knows for sure what the new norm will look like but we are forever changed.
Our Real Estate Market
Amazingly, our local market has held up and remained an essential service. Prices are the same and there's no sign of increase in foreclosure or short sale activity. The first few weeks saw a decline in showings and new contracts but the trend has turned around:
3rd week March: showings down 20% / new contracts down 16%
4th week March: showings down 36% / new contracts down 22%
1st week April: showings down 41% / new contracts down 35%
2nd week April: showings down 55% / new contracts down 34%
3rd week April: showings down 38% / new contracts down 28%
4th week April: showings down 30% / new contracts down 13%
The past week we had over 400 homes go under contract which is similar to the same period last year, a record setting year. Incredible given the circumstances!