When to Bring in an “Insurance Agent” Question: when is a real estate agent actually an insurance agent? Answer: when they’re brought in to a deal by Realtor #1 who needs their expertise to clinch the listing. Every Realtor who’s been in business long enough has faced this conundrum: a prospective client is considering hiring...Read More
Cheaper More Expensive By the Dozen Usually, the more of something you have to sell, the cheaper it is. That’s just basic, “supply-and-demand” — Economics 101. So, when is that not the case? When it comes to rental properties in today’s housing market. Buyer’s vs. Seller’s Markets Currently, there is a huge disconnect between what duplexes and...Read More
Diamond Lake (#3) vs. Linden Hills (#24) Imagine picking the top Twin Cities restaurants based on which ones were the most affordable, or had the shortest lines. In a nutshell, that’s my reaction to the cover story in the September issue of Twin Cities Metro Magazine, titled “30 Best Neighborhoods: the Twin Cities’ most livable destinations.” It’s All...Read More
First Houses, Now Gold? What’s the best way to make an asset class appreciate? A. Increase its intrinsic value B. Limit supply C. Increase its liquidity D. Stimulate demand Answer: C. (credit also given for “D.”). Buried in a Wall Street Journal article last week (the good stuff always is) was this nugget: Whenever an asset gets...Read More
Padded List Prices What do you do if you’re a Seller in a Buyer’s market who’s worried about lowball offers? At least a few succumb to the temptation to pad their asking (“list”) price. Their logic? The higher their initial price, “the more room they have to negotiate.” Flawed Logic Well, yes. But that presumes...Read More
Sell the sizzle, not the steak. –Advertising slogan Is that saying still accurate? At least in real estate sales today, I don’t think so. In fact, I think it may be exactly backwards: Buyers want to be sold “steak,” not “sizzle.” For at least some Buyers, I’d go even further: they don’t want to be...Read More
