More than just a party.

Did you know that Cinco de Mayo is more than an excuse to drink and cruise around? It commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's unlikely victory over the French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Here’s the whole story.

March 2023 Market Report

The numbers are in from March, and sales of single family homes remained slow in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, down as much as 40% year over year, with median prices 13% below what they were a year ago. But properties are spending more time on the market as buyers are still wary of high mortgage interest rates.

The Return of the Commute

Those of us who were lucky enough to work from home during the pandemic are slowly getting back to the office, but the traditional commute will never be the same. How’s your return so far?

CHIC (Pearl)

I’m one of the lucky ones who can continue to work from home, so the only commute I need to navigate is the path from our bedroom to the shower to the kitchen to the office. It may sound like a dream, but it can be very hard to find motivation when a bag of popcorn and streaming videos are at your fingertips. That’s why I try to pretend my supervisor is watching — even though it’s just our cat!

GEEK (Kevin)

If I never have to wait in rush hour traffic again it will be too soon. There is nothing more wasteful and mind-numbing than sitting in your car for hours every day with nothing to do but inch forward, check your text messages, and call a friend to vent. I know I’m not supposed to look at my phone while I’m driving, but I don’t call that driving. It’s more like waiting for a miracle.

Plant a tree.

The last Friday of April each year is designated as National Arbor Day, when we honor and celebrate the trees that provide us with oxygen and keep our planet clean and green. Get out and plant one in your neighborhood today!

Interest rates trending down

In a sign that should bring a smile to the faces of homebuyers, daily and weekly average mortgage interest rates are on a downward trajectory in the wake of recent bank collapses. This could help to ease inflation and get the volatile market back on track in time for a summer warming.

While these data sets come from multiple sources with different methodologies to calculate their figures, the trends are extremely similar. That said, it can be difficult to predict short-term rate changes, so it’s important to keep the big picture in mind. For example, despite a spike over the past year, rates remain well below where they were in the 1990s.