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Want a More Affordable Home? Don’t Overlook Condos.

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When you picture buying your first home, chances are you’re imagining a traditional single-family house with its own yard, maybe a garage, and little extra room to grow. But with affordability still tight, getting everything on that list right away may come with a higher price tag than you’re comfortable with right now. So, if you’re running the numbers and buying a house like that feels like a stretch, there may be another way in. A condo. Because in a lot of markets, condos come with a significantly lower price tag. And that could make them a smart way to get your foot in the door. Condos Can Cost Less Than You Think According to a recent study by Zillow:  “ Condos are the most commonly affordable home type in virtually every metro. At the starter level, the savings can be pretty significant. Nationally, starter condos average $197,468 — that’s about 6% less than the typical starter home. ” And depending on where you live, the difference can be much bigger.  Zillow identif...
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That Was Some Must-See Sports TV

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  “Just Thinking" Well, I was putting this together late last night, but I got a late start because a couple of events on TV demanded my attention. First things first, if you want to be the champ, you have to beat the champ. The "Da Bums" were back-to-back champions until Thursday night, when the Brew Crew rolled into Los Angeles and completed a sweep of the defending champs on their home turf. I don't want to come across as a hater, but I've been a Giants fan my entire life, and my second favorite team has always been whoever is playing the Dodgers. So, while the Giants are facing a lot of rebuilding, I have to admit that I enjoyed seeing Milwaukee send the champs packing. Elated by the outcome but still not getting any writing done, I flipped over to Prime just in time to see the Seahawks tie the Broncos at the end of regulation sending the game into overtime. I stuck around long enough to see Sam Darnold throw an interception and Denver hitting a game-winning ...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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AGNT’s Leo Pareja: Stop Waiting for a Crash. It Came 3 Years Ago

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  Check Out This Weeks Newsletter   AGNT CEO Leo Pareja says the housing market collapse happened three years ago in sales volume and shares his 2027 outlook for rates and prices. A lot of people have been waiting for a housing market crash. AGNT, Inc. CEO Leo Pareja says it happened three years ago, but it didn’t show up as plummeting prices. Pareja explained: “The collapse already happened three years ago. It happened in the transaction count.” Pareja shared the housing data, along with the population math, behind his outlook in a keynote at eXpcon 2026 in Salt Lake City last week. From there, he covered where he sees mortgage rates and home prices heading, along with where agents can find business next year. Let’s dive in.  The Collapse in Home Sales  When speaking about transaction counts, Pareja told agents the crash they keep waiting for is behind them. “I’ve been telling agents for months, winter is here. Anyone else feel like the whole world is waiting or wor...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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Homes Are Still Selling – Even in a Slower Market

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 If you’ve seen headlines saying home sales are slowing down, you may be wondering: is this really a good time to sell? While the latest numbers show sales picked up slightly in September, they're still down compared to last year. But here’s the perspective the headlines can miss. Homes are still selling every single day. Because no matter what’s happening with mortgage rates or the economy, life keeps happening too. People get new jobs. Families grow. Relationships change. People retire, downsize, or need to move closer to the people they love.  And those life changes create buyers and sellers in every market. Just Look at the Math According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), based on the current pace homeowners are expected to sell almost 4 million homes this year. Break that down, and that’s roughly: 11,000 homes every day. 450 homes every hour. 8 homes every minute. So, yes, the market may be moving at a slower pace than it has at other points in time. But sl...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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Aging Homeowners Will Free Up 13.9 Million Homes by 2036

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  Check Out This Weeks Newsletter Realtor.com projects Boomers and the Silent Generation will release 13.9 million homes by 2036, with family homes making up 71.2% of the total. Over the next decade, Realtor.com projects Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation will release 13.9 million homes. These two generations released an estimated 8 million homes over the past 10 years, so the coming wave is 74% bigger. The timing lines up with a milestone. This year, the oldest Boomers turn 80, and the youngest members of the Silent Generation are past that age. Homeownership among older Americans holds steady into the mid-70s and starts to slip in the early 80s. The steepest drop comes in the mid-to-late 80s. So will all those homes ease the inventory crunch? Realtor.com ’s new Generational Housing Succession report says it depends on the kind of home your buyers want and where they’re shopping.  Here’s a look at how big the turnover will get and which homes it’ll free up. How 13.9 Mil...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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Find a Penny

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  “Just Thinking" The other day, I was at the store again for a Diet Pepsi, this time I skipped the candy bar the total came to $2.76. Earlier that morning, I had emptied all the change from my pockets, so I handed the clerk three one-dollar bills and looked around for one of those "Take a Penny, Leave a Penny" trays, I figured I could toss in a penny and get a quarter back, but the store didn't have one. Without saying a word, the clerk handed me a quarter. He wasn't concerned about being short a penny, what if the total had been $2.77 or $2.78? Would he have still rounded it down and given me a quarter? What if it had been $2.79? Would I have received two dimes and been the one giving up the penny? If that happened throughout the day, how would he balance his drawer at the end of his shift. Once again, a trip to the store sent me down a rabbit hole about our penny and its rather dismal future. As of November 12, 2025, the U.S. government stopped the production ...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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Two Moves That Can Get You Into Your First Home Sooner

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 For a lot of first-time buyers, owning a home can feel perpetually a few years out of reach. Saving for a down payment takes time, and each year you spend renting can make owning feel further off. But buying your first home doesn’t have to happen to feel like a far away goal. Two choices you control can bring your first home years closer, even with affordability as tight as it is right now. How Long Buying Really Takes First, one quick definition. "Breaking even" is the point where owning has cost you about the same as renting would have over the same period. And after that point, owning starts to cost less than renting. Kara Ng, Senior Economist at Zillow , puts it this way: " Buyers should think about not just when they can afford to buy, but how long they'd need to stay before owning makes more financial sense than renting. " So how long does reaching that point usually take? And what are the shortcuts? Let’s do the math. According to Zillow , it usually tak...
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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA
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