February. Is there a worse month on the calendar? The holidays are over, Spring feels like an eternity away, and Winter has us in its death grip with no intention of letting go without a fight. Or two. Or three. One of the few things to look forward to is a particular pigskin championship held each year. Call it the Big Game. The Grand Contest. The Final Coin Toss. The Great Commercial Showdown. The Stuff Before and After the Halftime Show (this year’s actually looks entertaining). Just don't call it the “you know what” (initials of “S” and “B”) or else you'll have a bevy of attorneys from the NFL and NBC descend upon you in an instant, with papers already filed, your accounts are all frozen, and they’re insisting on a gallon of blood from your first born and threatening to staple your eyelids to your forehead and force you to watch episodes of “Call me Kat” on an endless loop.
Whoa. That went off the rails a little bit. Anyway, when you live in the Midwest, you look for any reason whatsoever to find something to look forward to while buried in the depths of winter. And this annual NFL Ultimate Game is a big one. It doesn’t even matter who’s playing. We so desperately need this escape from the foot of snow on the ground and below zero wind chills, that we’ll prepare 300 different snacks and serve enough alcohol to kill a bull elephant using a football game to justify it. And that’s just for the two of us during Covid. Can you imagine if we were actually hosting a party and having people over? And this year is compounded by the quadrennial Winter Games. I’ll admit, I'm an Olympics nerd. It seems like I tell myself every Winter Olympics, “meh, just not that interested”, but then when I stop and watch a Curling match between Estonia and the Isle of Tonga, I’m totally sucked in for the entire two weeks. Every Downhill. Every Slalom. Every Pairs Skating Event. Every Hockey Match. If they had ice fishing, I’d freaking watch it. I’m even looking up Olympic themed foods and cocktails in order to enhance the experience. Well, at least this February is a little less dreadful, now. And March, and with it, Spring, isn’t THAT far off.
Speaking of Spring, the traditional Spring buying season doesn't actually begin in Spring anymore. The past two years, Covid has thrown the real estate market into an absolute frenzy beginning in February. If you’re considering listing your home and don’t have all your ducks in a row by the middle of January, it might already be too late to catch the Spring buyers. And this year appears to have picked up where last year ended. We are still seeing multiple offer situations, no concessions, contracts well over list price, etc. Inventory is still incredibly low, and the sellers are still in the driver’s seat, even with lending rates ticking slightly upward. Yes, rates are trending upward. But let’s be clear, they are still unusually and historically low. Low enough to not deter the vast majority of potential buyers. I sense a hot market coming out of this cold winter. And it’s going to be a crazy competitive market again. To take full advantage, it would help to have someone with both valuation and sales experience on your side. Luckily, I got a guy (It’s me. I’m that guy). So, while you’re sitting there contemplating selling your home or poring over the scant active listings your favorite Realtor forwarded to you yesterday and are likely already under contract today, enjoy some stuffed jalapeno pulled pork sliders cheeseburger taco pizza roll burritos while sipping a fun cocktail and watching mixed doubles extreme speed skating downhill moguls (I’ll be watching my Curling, thank you very much) after already having viewed the Superb Bowl. I guess February doesn’t have to be so bad this year, all.
Speaking of February, I’d like to talk about an underappreciated and oft neglected holiday…Groundhog Day (I bet you thought I was going to mention a different February holiday, didn’t you?). Now, I’m not necessarily talking about the actual day centered around Punxsutawney Phil and the search for his shadow. But I am absolutely referring to the Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell gem from way back in 1993. This has been one of my all-time favorite movies for literally decades. It’s a perfect vehicle to showcase Murray’s sardonic wit and, also, apropos for all of us wandering through this crazy life for the past 2+ years. And, lucky for us, it has been adapted to a stage musical. My wife and I were fortunate enough to take in this adaptation this past Sunday, February 6th, at the amazing and historic Paramount Theater in Aurora. It was both faithful to the source material and original at the same time. And the venue is gorgeous, warm, and welcoming. The Paramount Arts Center is a true treasure and I’m happy and proud to say it's in my hometown. Full disclosure…we are season ticket holders and have been for several years. So, if you can, I strongly recommend you take in a show at the Paramount. Any show. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed. Now, if Spring would just like to give us a little peak, that would be great. Thanks.