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Home Insurance Costs Are Rising: What Buyers Should Plan For

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Buying a home is one of the biggest purchases you’ll ever make. And homeowner’s insurance is what protects that investment. Think of it as your safety net. NerdWallet explains it: Covers Repairs and Rebuilding Costs : If your home is damaged by fire, storms, or other covered events, it helps pay for repairs and possibly even a full rebuild, if that’s deemed necessary. Protects Your Belongings : It can also cover personal items like furniture, electronics, jewelry, and clothing if they’re stolen or damaged. Provides Liability Coverage : And, if someone gets injured on your property, your policy can help cover medical bills or legal expenses. But that peace of mind does come with a cost, and lately those costs have been rising. Why Home Insurance Premiums Are Going Up There are a number of factors causing insurance premiums to rise today. But, in the simplest sense, here’s what’s driving prices up according to the Insurance Research Council (IRC). Severe weather events and natural dis...
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Contract Cancellations Just Hit the Highest Level on Record

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Check Out This Weeks Newsletter More than 40,000 home-purchase agreements fell apart in December, the highest cancellation rate Redfin has ever recorded for that month. That’s not a typo. According to a new Redfin analysis of MLS pending-sales data, 16.3% of all homes that went under contract in December ended up canceled. That’s up from 14.9% a year earlier and marks the highest December share since Redfin began tracking the data in 2017. This lines up with what’s happening across the market as buyers gain more options and become increasingly selective. A Record Share of Pending Sales Are Falling Through Redfin’s historical data shows December cancellations have been climbing for years, and 2025 pushed them to a new high. Here’s how the trend looks in context: December 2025 posted a 16.3% cancellation rate, the highest December level on record December 2024 came in at 14.9%, meaning cancellations jumped 1.4 percentage points year over year Prior Decembers generally ...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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You May Not Want To Skip Over That House That’s Been Sitting on the Market

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  When you see a house that’s been sitting on the market for a while, the reaction is almost automatic. You start thinking: What’s wrong with it? Why hasn’t anyone bought it yet? Am I missing something? That mindset made sense a few years ago. But in today’s market, you may actually miss out. More Time on Market Isn't Automatically a Concern Anymore A few years ago, homes sold in just a matter of days. Sometimes, hours. Anything that lingered longer than that raised concerns. But that’s no longer the baseline. Inventory has grown. Buyers have more choices. And homes are taking longer to sell across the board. Those are some of the reasons why the typical time it takes a home to sell has climbed this year: And it’s not that 73 days is slow. That’s actually pretty normal for this time of year. It just feels slow because you heard so much about houses being snapped up in the buying frenzy a few years ago. That shift alone explains a lot of what you’re seeing. It’s not necessarily tha...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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Two Weeks Until Pitchers and Catchers

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“Just Thinking" Two weeks until pitchers and catchers report, and in anticipation of the diamond dandies returning to the field, this week’s newsletter is going full baseball. Spring Training will feel a bit different this year because it’s a World Baseball Classic year. WBC pitchers report by February 11, and position players on February 12. This is the sixth edition of the tournament which features 20 national teams competing across four countries from March 5–17. Here is the WBC at a glance, 20 teams, 4 pools, 5 teams in each pool. Round-robin pool play 4 games per team, top 2 teams advance from each pool. Single-elimination quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. Here are some of the rule tweaks: Pitch counts: First Round - 65 pitches, Quarterfinals - 80 pitches, Semis & the Finals - 95 pitches. Designated Pitcher Pool (DPP): Teams may carry extra pitchers outside the main 30‑man roster and activate them between rounds. International tiebreaker: In extra innings, teams star...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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Gen X, Millennials to Inherit $2.4T in U.S. Real Estate Wealth Over the Next Decade

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Check Out This Weeks Newsletter A historic wealth transfer is already underway, and luxury real estate is one of its biggest beneficiaries. According to the newly released Coldwell Banker Global Luxury 2026 Trend Report, Gen X and Millennials are set to inherit $4.6 trillion in global real estate wealth over the next 10 years, with the United States expected to capture 52% of that total, nearly $2.4 trillion. The report draws on three years of luxury home sales data, insights from global wealth research firms, and a survey of more than 100 Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Property Specialists.  Together, the data paints a clear picture of where luxury demand is headed, why it remains resilient, and how buyer priorities are shifting in meaningful ways. Gen X and Millennials Take the Lead in the Great Wealth Transfer This next cycle of luxury demand is being driven less by first-time wealth creation and more by inheritance. Gen X is positioned to receive the bulk of near-...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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Mortgage Rates Recently Hit a 3-Year Low. Here’s Why That’s Still a Big Deal

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If you’re one of the thousands of homebuyers waiting for rates to fall, you should know it’s already happening. And they recently crossed an important milestone. Rates officially dipped their toes into the 5s – something that hasn’t happened in about 3 years. This moment marked a critical threshold. Now, rates are sitting in the low 6% territory. And expert forecasts project they’ll hover near this range throughout the year. Here's why that’s so good for you. Why Current Rates Are Such a Big Deal A mortgage rate doesn’t just affect the interest you end up paying on your home loan. It shapes your entire buying experience. When rates were up around 7% just one year ago, a lot of buyers felt priced out. Payments were higher. Budgets felt tighter. Affordability was a bigger challenge. That’s especially true for first-time homebuyers, who felt the biggest pinch. But according to industry experts, that’s starting to change now that rates are slowly inching down. Let’s break down why. Rig...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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Why Rising Foreclosure Headlines Aren’t a Red Flag for Today’s Housing Market

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If you’ve seen headlines saying foreclosure activity has been climbing for 10 straight months, it’s easy to assume that's a sign of trouble for the housing market. But when you look at the full picture, a few simple truths become clear: Today’s foreclosure numbers are in line with what’s considered normal High home equity is keeping most homeowners in a strong financial position None of the data points to a big wave of distressed sales that’ll crash the market Foreclosure Filings Are Up 32%, But That Doesn’t Mean the Market’s in Trouble If you peel the layers all the way back, what everyone is actually worried about is that we’re headed for a repeat of what happened in 2008. Back then, riskier lending practices and an oversupply of homes for sale brought home prices down and led to a significant increase in foreclosures. A lot of people felt the impact. But this isn’t the same situation. Yes, ATTOM data shows foreclosure filings are up 32% year-over-year. And that increase is going...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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