Pendulum Swings Towards Rentals [Editor’s note: this piece was originally posted last weekend. I’m “popping” to the top of the list because it was lightly read before being buried by subsequent posts. If you read it then, please just skip.] It’s time to accept that home ownership is not a realistic goal for many people...Read More
Shadow Inventory . . . in the Same Building There’s been much talk of “shadow inventory” that wanna-be Sellers are poised to put on the market once conditions strengthen. We’re about to find out, because there are increasing signs that the lower end of the market is stabilizing, if not rising. In the meantime, the...Read More
May Case-Shiller Numbers: Is the Worst Over? It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future. —Yogi Berra If I told you a stock that had been selling for $30 three years ago was now $20, and hadn’t fallen any further in the last few months, could you confidently say that it had bottomed? It...Read More
Upper Bracket Squeezed by Jumbo Bottleneck At a time when some mortgage products are showing signs of life, jumbo mortgages are hard to get and expensive, making it difficult for many would-be move-up buyers to take action. —Minneapolis Association of Realtors (6/22/09) Want a quick, simple handle on today’s housing market? Take $417,000, the limit...Read More
Four Questions to Ask, or, “Context, Context, Context” With multiple offers making a comeback — especially bank foreclosures that are “priced to sell” (and then some) — it once again bears asking: ‘how do you know if the property you’re interested in is really in multiple offers?’ Herewith are the four ways to tell. One....Read More
“If you hit a wrong note once, then shame on you, but if you hit it twice then you’re playing Jazz.” –old joke amongst musicians As the parent of a 9 year-old boy, I’ve observed how one (slightly) nerdy kid can be a lonely island, but two is suddenly . . . a club! (It’s...Read More
