The Highs and Lows in Life

Parenthood for me is a journey like nothing else. As you know I came to this whole parenting thing later in life than most of my friends, as a matter of fact, I didn’t think I was going to be lucky enough to be a dad at all. I am so old that one of my son’s friends thought I was his grandpa. Can you believe that?!

As any parent will tell you, the road is filled with highest highs and the lowest lows and it’s very seldom boring for long. A few weeks ago, my daughter had an allergic reaction to her peanut immunotherapy. One minute she is cleaning out her fishbowl, and the next I am injecting her with an EpiPen and sitting in the emergency room. Thankfully she is all right.

We were very lucky, because Claire is at the age that she was able to tell us what was wrong, and we were prepared. We knew what to do and were able to reach her allergist immediately, but it was still very scary. As I sat in the hospital, I realized how very lucky we were. Unlike some parents, we found out about Claire’s allergy from a blood test followed by a scratch test. Some parents will be finding out about their child’s allergy from an exposure, and they won’t have an EpiPen or a plan.

When I stop and think about it, it’s mind boggling. Growing up I never knew anyone that had a peanut allergy. I am not a doctor, but I don’t think it’s genetic because no one in our families has a peanut allergy. Claire has or had more allergies than I can count. Some she has grown out of, but others like seasonal allergies and other foods she manages with shots, medicines, and avoidance. All of them combined are not as challenging or serious as her peanut allergy.

Peanut allergy is one of the most common and potentially life-threatening food allergies. For some children, even trace amounts could trigger a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. After finding out, the fear of a severe reaction from an accidental exposure became our constant companion, and it turned everyday activities like mealtime, school, and social gatherings into minefields.

Jen has taken the lead on navigating Claire through her dietary restrictions. Since she was diagnosed, Jen has carefully read food labels, called ahead to check the menus at restaurants to see what was available for Claire to eat and pack a meal for her for family gatherings. As Claire has grown older, she has taught her to be vigilant about what she eats. As I write this, the enormity of all of that responsibility is nothing short of astonishing. Don’t get me wrong, over the years we’ve had our share of accidental “mom poisonings” as she called them, but thankfully never peanut. Incidentally, did you know Nerds, and chewy Sweet Tarts have egg in them? We’ve also had to deal with people thinking her food allergies weren’t real and feeding her things that made her sick when she was very little and not able to advocate for herself.

There was a time when Claire was all of a sudden getting sick after a meal that we had on regular rotation for years before with no problem. The first time it happened my wife thought she was faking to get out of doing her chores, but still double checked to make sure all of the components were safe and had not changed their ingredients. But it kept happening, and each time got a little worse. Then we found out that the taco seasoning we were using was recalled because of undeclared almond powder. Even all these years later, she won’t eat seasoned meat in her tacos at home. We now have a Google alert set for food recalls. Technology isn’t all bad.

Sending Claire to school was also very nerve-racking, not only did we worry about her being exposed to peanuts we were also concerned she would be a social outcast having to sit alone at the “Peanut Free Table.” We were relieved to find out there was a boy in 7ᵗʰ grade that also had an allergy and he was a great kid. He talked with her and made her feel welcome, he also pointed out some of the perks of sitting at the Peanut Free table, like being the first in line to get ice cream. Raising children is intimidating at times. Just like a lot of things in life, so much of what happens is out of our control.

The economy and real estate market are also out of our control. Everyone is making predictions of another crash like 2006 as hardly anyone saw it coming even though all of the data was pointing towards a crash. Today it’s the opposite. None of the data shows a crash or a bubble, but everyone is shouting it from the rooftops.

Could it happen? Yes, I guess it could, but based on all of the data the chances are very unlikely. We have people in the mortgage industry saying rates will be in the eights by the end of the year, and others saying it will be at 6.8%. The truth is no one knows. Not even Jerome Powell knows, and he controls the Federal Reserve.

I know people that lost all of their investments back in 2007, I am one of them. I also know people that tried to unload them that couldn’t that ended up holding on and making a killing on them later.

The truth on the street is this, based on my real transactions, we are still in a sellers’ market. Every house below $350,000 that goes on the market in good condition sells in a few days. Since rates have gone up, I have sold homes in Cleveland’s Westpark neighborhood, North Royalton, Rocky River and Westlake. All had multiple offers and sold at or above the asking price.

I have had a few clients and real estate agents ask me how I thought the rates are affecting sales. Folks, this is where being old pays off. Pull up a chair and let me tell you a story. Back when I started in real estate in the late 1900s interest rates were at a little over 9%, and if you thought 9% was high, think again. In the early 1980’s the rates peaked at 18.63%. Guess what? People still bought houses. So, my answer is this; when people that want to buy are able to buy, they buy. The interest rates don’t really matter much. From talking to a few buyers, most think that when rates go down, they will refinance.

Here are the facts according to Freddie Mac, the main industry source for mortgage rates that has been keeping records since 1971. Between April 1971 and November 2023, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.74%.

Home values are still appreciating according to Case-Shiller, and according to the Multiple Listing Service people are still moving. From January 1, 2023, to November 10, 2023, there were 20,162 homes sold in Cuyahoga, Medina, and Lorain counties. That is an average of 64.2 houses sold a day. 64.2 houses divided by 24 hours a day is 2.67 houses every hour.

Some people, like a recent guest on CNBC said home ownership is not as desirable as it has been in years past. Well I don’t know what he was talking about. According to a survey done by Gallop “American’s opinion of the best long-term investment in 2023 is Real Estate. As a side note, real estate has been voted number 1 for the last 11 years.

I don't think anyone really knows what is next. What we do know is inventory remains down over 40% since pre-pandemic levels. Based on the multiple offers I have seen, I know for sure there's not enough inventory, and if there's not enough inventory that means prices won't crash (remember that it is all supply and demand).

A lot of things are out of our control but having the information is not one of them. Please remember that home values are hyper local if you would like a P.E.A.R. (Professional Equity Assessment Report) on your home just drop me a line.

I am very grateful for your continued trust and your referrals to family and friends as I start the 30th year of my career.

From my family to yours, I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving -- Dennis Rath

Reminder that this was originally written in November 2023, if you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out!!