Christmas Vacation — for the Housing Market, Too It’s official: last Monday thru Sunday (Dec. 21 – 27) was the slowest week of the year. Just as it was last year, and the year before. My office — Edina Realty City Lakes — recorded 44 showings for that period. By contrast, the peak period in...Read More
Home Trends 2010: ‘Don’t Call it a Basement’ First, some background: The big trends in housing at the moment are being driven by technology, demographics, and economics (primarily, the Recession, and secondarily, energy costs). Demographics: lots of upper bracket Baby Boomers — ages 50-65 and on the verge of becoming “empty nesters” — are suddenly...Read More
“Lumpy” Home Repairs How much should you earmark for annual home upkeep? According to one LA-based Realtor: Homeowners should have 1% of the purchase price of their home in savings for improvements and surprise expenses. That is the absolute minimum. It’s better to have 2% to 3% socked away somewhere. –“Home Costs Keep Going Up“;...Read More
