Saved Searches on MLS How many people are watching a listing? And why does it matter? If a listing isn’t selling, one of the tools Realtors have to gauge interest today is how many prospective Buyers have “saved” the property on MLS; the more people who’ve save the property, the logic goes, the more likely...Read More
Magic Number: Three What does a Venn Diagram have to do with Realtor referrals? My theory, at least, is the way to “make it” in real estate sales is to consistently be the light green “sweet spot” where the three circles overlap in the middle. Oh . . . and the circles represent people. So,...Read More
Housing Market’s “Brussel Sprouts” Edina Realty Regional Manager Terry McDonough gave a terrific talk at City Lakes yesterday about the advantages — and potential pitfalls — of using contracts for deed in today’s housing market. In an environment of zero percent interest rates (“ZIRP”) and lots of stealth home equity (something like 2/3 of those...Read More
Or Was It, “Lend for Free on Crap Collateral?” It’s one thing to encounter distortions and ignorant drivel in some blogosphere backwater. But when it appears in The New York Times . . . it’s more than a little dismaying. In a nutshell, that’s my reaction to Adam Davidson’s piece, “What Does Wall Street Do For...Read More
How Many “Active” Short Sales are Under Contract? Four thousand Twin Cities short sales — the number of “Active” such listings on MLS right now — certainly sounds like a lot. At least until you dig a little deeper. It turns out that roughly half of those are under contract. Because the bank(s) haven’t signed off yet, the...Read More
Robbinsdale Retrofit: Finding Opportunities in Today’s Housing Market In the stock market, there are periods when the proverbial “high tide raises all ships”: it doesn’t matter which stock(s) you own, so long as you’re in the market. When the vast majority of stocks are instead treading water, it’s known as “a stock picker’s market.” Success takes...Read More
