City Lakes + Parkwest = City West? Yesterday was a red letter day unlike any other in my nine-plus years at Edina Realty. Any one of the following announcements at yesterday’s City Lakes office meeting — delivered personally by Edina Realty President and CEO Bob Peltier — would have qualified as blockbuster news; cumulatively, the...Read More
“Counter”-Productive Improvements What do you call an old Kitchen with new granite counter-tops? A. An updated Kitchen; B. An old Kitchen with new granite counter-tops Answer: B Admittedly, that’s not the answer that many home sellers (and their listing agents) would give. However, that’s how the vast majority of Buyers are likely to view it. In...Read More
Key: Establishing Priorities It’s hard enough for a single Buyer to find a home that meets their needs, budget, taste, etc. How much harder does it become when a home has to satisfy two individuals’ (long) list of criteria? It depends on how much their lists overlap. Overlapping Circles At one extreme, there are couples...Read More
Market Misconceptions Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. –Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” All politics is local. –former U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill All real estate is local. –Corollary, Ross Kaplan One of the biggest misconceptions about today’s housing market is that there is a surfeit of homes available...Read More
A stretch of Dupont Avenue in South Minneapolis (near Lake Harriet) is also known as ‘The King’s Highway.” It’s that latter name that seems particularly apt right now, given the crater-sized potholes everywhere. Until they’re fixed, you might want to consider using a horse rather than your car to navigate Dupont between 37th & 40th (I nearly wrecked...Read More
“East is East, and West is West . . .” It’s well-known that mnemonics — using associations to aid memory — are useful for recalling people’s names. But mnemonics are also a great way to keep street names straight. So, in Minneapolis, I remember that Park Ave. is a one way running east by thinking of...Read More
