“Is That Like, ‘Who’s Buried in Grant’s Tomb?'” The above may seem like a trick question, but it’s really not. Especially given that Minnesota’s Spring housing market doesn’t really kick off in April or May, but early February (or whenever the subzero weather relents). So, do Fall sellers jump the gun as well? Avoiding Labor...Read More
The Case for RTC II (“RTC²?”) It seems increasingly apparent — at least to this observer — that what lies in our collective future is some sort of successor to The Resolution Trust Corporation (“RTC”). It was the RTC, of course, that successfully dealt with (and disposed of) all the foreclosed commercial properties left in the...Read More
Showing Owners You’re Hustling For Them I know many agents who swear by doing Sunday open houses. They claim to pick up new clients that way, and — at least occasionally — actually find a Buyer for the house they’re holding open. While there are ample reasons to do Broker open houses (see, “Open House...Read More
The Next Big Thing? Not Yet Not all technological innovations take the world by storm. Or at least the real estate world. Case in point: so-called QR codes, short for “quick response.” Essentially a bar code (like the one at left), they allow anyone with a smart phone to take a snapshot of an image,...Read More
To laymen, it must certainly appear that way. So, people who know I used to be a corporate attorney will often say to me in passing about another Realtor, “did you know that so-and-so used to be an attorney, too?” If and when I cross paths with the fellow Realtor-Attorney, what I invariably discover is...Read More
Alternative Theory: Weighed Down by Debt One of the most overlooked factors driving the housing market is the rate of household formation. When people graduate from renting apartments to buying homes, get married and start families, etc., housing demand strengthens; when the number of households contract — as happens in recessions — housing demand weakens....Read More
