Where’d They Get THAT Number?? Ever ask yourself that while looking at a new listing whose asking price seemingly bears no connection to market reality? In my (Realtor’s) experience, a good one-third of the time, the explanation is just one click away — on the property tax statement showing what the owner originally paid for the house. Yup —...Read More
Judging from a quick tour of city streets this morning, there would appear to be a record number of entrants in this year’s (unofficial) Twin Cities Dirty Car Competition. The contest runs through February (or until the next thaw); the prize has yet to be announced. (One idea: first in line at a mobbed Twin Cities car...Read More
Is “Now the Time to Buy?” Discretion is the better part of valour. –Idiom Yes, interest rates are scraping along the bottom of multi-decade lows. And yes, home prices are down dramatically — and Buyers have never had more choices. Unfortunately, all those things were just as true in 2008 as they are now. And...Read More
Edina Realty’s “Emmy” Awards No, no one gushed that “you like me, you really, really like me” when they received an Edina Realty “Emmy” award this year (the company’s equivalent of the Oscar, named in honor of company founder Emma Rovick and awarded to one Realtor and one (salaried) employee annually). Instead, what I heard was that...Read More
“Buy One, Get One Free” My “Noah” line got a chuckle out of the cashier checking me out at Lund’s this morning. Courtesy of all their “2-for-1” specials, my purchase consisted of two boxes of cereal, two chicken breasts, two packages of sliced turkey, two OJ’s, etc., etc. You get the idea . . ....Read More
Reader Russian Roulette Ever since I let my Wall Street Journal subscription lapse years ago, I have been greeted at the top of each (online) article with a bright notice saying, “To Continue Reading, Subscribe Now.” Make that almost every article. To whet readers’ appetite, The Journal occasionally tosses in an unabridged article that’s otherwise only available to...Read More
