Cape Corral Town Money Saver | March FOM 2022

Saint Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is made special by various traditions. Everything from dyeing major cities’ rivers green to parades to enjoying green foods has become part of the pageantry of St. Patrick’s Day.

e next time you raise a green beer to your lips, you may wonder which traditions are authentically Irish and which ones were created by regions with an abundance of Irish emigrants. Surprisingly, many seemingly Irish traditions likely began elsewhere.

First parade ◆ It would be accurate to assume that various elements associated with St. Patrick’s Day began where St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, once resided, including the rst St. Patrick’s Day parade. However, some of the rst parades held in St. Patrick’s honor took place in two North American cities, New York and Boston, that had high numbers of Irish immigrants. But historians say the rst ever St. Patrick’s Day parade was actually held in St. Augustine, Florida in 1601, a year a er gun re blasts were used to honor the saint. e parade may have been at the request of an Irish priest living there at the time.

Corned beef and cabbage ◆ What would St. Patrick’s Day be without an authentic meal of corned beef and cabbage? is dish is not so authentic a er all, and actually is an American innovation. Ham and cabbage was widely eaten in Ireland, but corned beef was a cheaper alternative found in America by immigrants. erefore, corned beef became a staple of poor Irish

immigrants living in lower Manhattan. e salted meat was boiled three times to remove some of the brine and make it palatable. Green beer ◆ Green beer is not an Irish custom, but an American one. e most common beer consumed in Ireland is Guinness, which is dark brown to black in color, making green dye useless in Irish pubs since it would be largely invisible in the stout.

Golf tournaments ◆ One would not associate golf with St. Patrick’s Day unless they reside in Nome, Alaska. Golf is a popular Irish pastime, and each year the Bering Sea Ice Classic Golf Tournament takes place right around St. Patrick’s Day. Bright green golf balls are used, and breaks are factored in between holes to warm up at local bars.

Wearing green ◆ According to e Christian Science Monitor, individuals in the United States started wearing green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the early 1700s. ey believed it “made one invisible to leprechauns.” e o cial color for the holiday used to be a sky blue known as “St. Patrick’s Day Blue,” established during the reign of King George III. In addition to these traditions, specialty items, such as co ees and shakes, also are very popular. However, most of these do not have origins on the Emerald Isle, either. Yet, no matter where traditions began, there’s no denying St. Patrick’s Day has long inspired celebration. •

Acombination of factors, including low interest rates and a pandemic-driven decision by many city dwellers to look for houses in the suburbs, has created a housing boom for much of 2020 and 2021. at boom has created an undeniable seller’s market in real estate.

Just what is a seller’s market? e nancial resource Investopedia de nes it as a marketplace in which there are fewer goods for sale than there are interested buyers, giving sellers the ability to dictate prices. Since mid-2020, there has been an extremely low inventory of homes for sale but a very high interest among purchasing parties.

Data from the National Association of Realtors indicated that, by the end of February 2021, housing inventory fell to a record low of 1.02 million units. ese factors have led to a surge in competition from buyers, including bidding wars on homes and all-cash o ers to entice sellers. In December 2020, the median listing prices for single-family homes shot up 13.4 percent from the same time the previous year, according to Realtor.com, and it hasn’t slowed down much since. Je rey Mezger, a 40-year veteran of the real estate industry and CEO of KB Home, says it’s the best seller’s housing market he’s seen in his career. So where does this leave buyers interested in relocating? Here are some tips.

• Consider areas with slower overall price growth. Experts say the southern and midwestern United States o er the best value for home shoppers because of their meager price growth. ClearCapital, which tracks housing values, says San Antonio, St.

Louis and the Dallas/Fort Worth areas experienced the least price appreciation from 2019 into 2020.

• Get pre-approval or have your funds ready. Speed is the way to go if a buyer is interested in a property and wants to make an o er. Real estate professionals say buyers should be “o er ready,” which means having a mortgage pre-approval letter or proof of funds for a down payment ready to go. Failure to have funds in check can slow down the process or compel sellers to reject an o er.

• Work with a real estate agent. ese are complicated times and it pays for buyers to have a professional working in their corner. A real estate agent uses his or her knowledge to make a timely o er and negotiate on the buyer’s behalf. He or she also will provide insight into speci c neighborhoods, amenities and school districts.

• Eliminate certain contingencies from the equation. Contingencies are factors that must be met before a sale can go through, according to the relocation site Moving.com. A common contingency is the need to sell one’s current home before closing on another. Asking for extended closing periods or certain home repairs are some additional contingencies that can make buyers less attractive to sellers.

• Make it personal. Buyers can o er a personalized note with the o er that may connect with the seller emotionally and set one them apart from others who have made similar o ers.

Buying in a seller’s market can be challenging. But some strategies can set buyers apart from the pack.