Dear Cape Friends,
If you’re new here, welcome. If you’ve been along for the ride, welcome back.
Here we are. The last day of September. I've always loved this month on Cape Cod. Summer hasn't completely let go, fall is starting to show itself, and somehow the place begins to feel like ours again.
So I'm changing things up a little this week and starting with the Song of the Week.
There's a reason - Stay with me..
Song of the Week: Waiting on a Friend / Rolling Stones
(Hit play here, and keep reading)
I have a great memory from many years ago. It was late September, and I was tuna fishing on my old boat, Anguilla Time, about 40 miles southeast of Chatham Back then, there was the “BB Buoy,” a popular destination for chasing Bluefin. I was with my trusted friend Paul Conte.
Anyhow, it was crack-o-a early and the makings of a cherry day. The sun was barely breaking the horizon when we arrived. Silky smooth seas. Zero wind. There was one other guy - by himself – out there on a restored 32-foot Bertram, and he already had lines in the water.
Picture the sight: outriggers extended, trolling along at about 6 or 7 knots, nobody else around for miles. He was up on the flybridge, completely in his element, enjoying every f'in second of it.
And absolutely cranking Waiting on a Friend by the Rolling Stones.
Forty miles offshore. Sun coming up. Flat-calm Atlantic. An old Bertram trolling for Bluefin. Mick and Keith blasting across the water. The fact that he made a conscious decision to throw money at a sound system on his boat: Respect
Overall Bad Ass Factor: 10.
Funny the things you remember. Every time I hear that song, I'm right back there. My life then was so simple and uncomplicated. Nan was home. The kids were young. None of us had any idea what life had in store for us - which, I suppose, is exactly the way it's supposed to be.
I would give just about anything to step back into that life for an hour. But I can't. What I can do is be grateful that I had it. And maybe that's why an old Rolling Stones song, heard 40 miles offshore on a crisp September morning all those years ago, can mean something entirely different today.
Funny the things you remember.
Now, before I get too reflective on you - yikes - let's change gears completely. Because apparently, in addition to beautiful fall weather and a changing real estate market, we may have a full-blown restaurant conspiracy unfolding here in Chatham!
I had dinner recently with my friends Todd and Laurie, and they have a theory: The whole damn Chatham dinner-reservation thing is a scam!
Their contention is that the restaurants are somehow in cahoots - pushing everyone toward those fringe “pre-5:30pm and post-8:30pm reservation times” while the sacred 6–8pm golden window mysteriously remains "unavailable." At first, I thought this sounded ridiculous. But naturally, I had to test it..
So the other night I called the Impudent Oyster here in Chatham looking for a resi.
"Sorry. Nothing available." Hmmmm.
Instead of accepting defeat, I wandered down there anyway. Seated immediately. Wait. WHAT?!
Coincidence? Conspiracy? What the fluff?! Todd and Laurie may actually be onto something.
Fortunately, my old friend and journalist extraordinaire, Chris Hansen, knows a thing or two about investigations. I may have to bring him in on this one. "Why don't you have a seat right over there…" 😂 My man..
I'll keep you posted on this ongoing investigation..
Anyhow… back to the slightly less controversial subject of Cape Cod real estate.
Fall Gets Serious
Something changes in the market when summer ends. Not necessarily better. Not necessarily worse. It just gets more serious. The casual summer lookers begin to disappear, and the people still walking through houses now generally have a reason for being there.
I'm seeing it firsthand at one of my listings at 15 Hayward Lane in East Orleans - multiple showings, repeat visits, buyers returning with builders and more thoughtful conversations. Less browsing. More evaluating.
And then there's the other thing everybody is talking about…Yep. Mortgage rates. The average 30-year fixed mortgage recently moved back above 7%. Nobody loves that. But the Cape is a little different, IMNSHO. A family financing most of an $800,000 year-round home feels that increase very differently than someone buying a $2 million second home with a substantial down payment.
And then there are the cash buyers. In August, roughly 40% of Cape Cod residential transactions involved cash. The median single-family sale price in Barnstable County was about $817,000, up from $779,000 last year, while available inventory was actually down about 6%.
Our little sandbar doesn't always behave like the rest of the country. And that's precisely why I LOVE the Fall.
For buyers, there's less noise and a little more breathing room to really evaluate a property. For sellers, there may be fewer eyeballs- but I'd take five serious buyers over fifty browsers any day of the week. Fall doesn't mean the Cape real estate market goes to sleep. It gets quieter. And sometimes, when things get quieter, you can hear what's actually going on.
Throw on a sweater. Grab a coffee. Walk the beach. Sneak in an emergency 9. Have lunch somewhere you couldn't get near six weeks ago. And maybe go look at a house or two.
So, goodbye September. You were a complicated one this year. But as always, you reminded me why I love this place so much.
If you’re around Friday morning, I’ll be holding court at Chatham Perk from 8:00–9:00 AM. Feel free to stop by the very BEST coffee house in Chatham and say hello - As always, the coffee is on me!
Best, Paul
P.S. If you're thinking about buying, selling, or simply keeping tabs on the market here on the elbow- or if you know someone who is - PaulBorde.com is a great place to start. You'll find listings, market updates, past NEWSLETTERS, and enough reading material to get you through at least one rainy Cape Cod weekend.
A few of the articles came dangerously close to Pulitzer Prize consideration.
(Editor's Note: This statement has not been independently verified.) 😄