Did you know the average American will spend $108 on Halloween related activities this year alone, and 60% of parents will dip into their childrens’ trick-or-treating haul? Wallethub breaks down the facts and figures of costumes, candy, and pumpkins, complete with the world’s longest infographic.
As Pearl noted in this week’s Chic vs. Geek, inventory is down throughout Silicon Valley, as indicated by a 27% year-over-year dip in home sales in September for Santa Clara County, and a staggering 37% drop in condo sales. Consequently, median prices are up from this time last year, and homes and condos are spending 35% less time on the market.
Procrastinators rejoice! The IRS and State Franchise Tax Board announced yesterday that they would extend the deadline — again — for most Californians to file their 2022 income taxes. You may recall that the deadline was already pushed back to in response to the deadly winter storms. The new deadline is Thursday, Nov. 16, for businesses and residents in 55 of 58 counties. The Chronicle has what you need to know.
When personal finance company WalletHub recently compared 1,300 American cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on affordability, economics, health, education, safety, and other indicators, Los Altos and Palo Alto ended up in the 95th percentile, just behind Livermore as the highest-ranked California small cities. See the full list here.
Despite a huge spike in mortgage interest rates buyers are still actively shopping for their next homes. And even though inventory remains sparse, current rates are pressuring some sellers to lower their prices to make their homes more affordable. Recent national data found that 5.9% of homes for sale in August experienced price cuts, and September saw even more sellers (6.5%) posting reduced prices.
