New Mixed-Use Project at 28th & Lyndale It’s not often that you see a bustling construction site on a Saturday. In January, in Minnesota. Yet that’s exactly what was happening today at the Northeast corner of 28th Street and Lyndale in Minneapolis’ Uptown neighborhood (technically, the Whittier neighborhood on the border with the The Wedge). Called ”...Read More
“The Contractor Quotient” There are lots of ways to size up a neighborhood (and divine its direction): check out the local schools, talk to people who actually live there, research demographics and income, etc. But one of my favorite ways is to simply drive it during weekday business hours, and look for contractor trucks (and relatedly,...Read More
Firmer Lines in the Sand? “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” –“Cool Hand Luke” A couple years ago, when you heard a Buyer’s agent characterize their client’s position as “final,” it almost never was. Today, it seems like the opposite is more common, i.e., Buyers’ agents — especially agents representing first-time Buyers...Read More
Watching Too Much “Breaking Bad?” It could just be that I’ve been watching too much “Breaking Bad,” a superb series on AMC whose main character makes methamphetamine, and whose brother-in-law just happens to be an Albuquerque DEA agent. But, my listings’ online traffic — and my own anecdotal observations — tell me that it’s not just my imagination....Read More
Real Estate Pronouns: ‘Yours,’ ‘Mine,’ and ‘Ours’ There are Realtors out there who, once you’ve hired them, refer to everything in the plural. As in, “our” house, “our” listing price, “our” offer, etc. Unh-uh. When the deal is done, it’s my client’s house — and their mortgage payment. I explicitly take pains not to blur the distinction...Read More
Comparing Apples and Oranges: Case Study #17 I’ve posted previously about how a slow market — combined with a relatively unique property — can bedevil Realtors and appraisers alike trying to estimate a home’s value. That’s because to be valid, a comparative market analysis must include three sales of similar properties no further back than...Read More
