Earnest Money Tug-of-War?When is it really a “done deal?” I tell my Sellers, “at closing, once you have the cashier’s check in hand.”* And when is the Buyer’s loan really good-to-go, in a national real estate market characterized by shrinking credit, tightening loan standards, and, in many places, steadily falling prices? My answer is, “when...Read More
Competing Housing Market Predictions (Surprise!) Well, that didn’t take long. No sooner did Barron’s jump into the housing market debate with a bullish call over the weekend, then another pundit weighed in with this rebuttal: “Why Barron’s Housing Cover is So Terribly Wrong,” on a blog called “The Big Picture.” Here’s the link: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/07/barrons-cover-g.html The...Read More
Bullish Call on Housing MarketThe lead story in the current issue of Barron’s offers a provocative — and surprisingly bullish — take on what’s ahead for the U.S. housing market (“Bottom’s Up: This Real Estate Rout May be Short-Lived”; Barron’s, July 14, 2008). According to the author, Jonathan Laing, the key statistic is “the ebbing...Read More
Latest (and Biggest) Shoe Dropsin Housing, Credit Market Mess The good news is, there don’t appear to be any more shoes to drop in the seemingly never-ending housing downturn/credit crisis (at least for now). The bad news is, the one that just did — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s stock market collapse this past week...Read More
Local Magazine Housing Guide:Useful Insights, Stale Data?If you’re in the market for a Twin Cities home — or just want to see how your neighborhood stacks up — the current issue of Mpls.-St. Paul Magazine is a must-read. But before you rely on the article to buy or sell, you may want to check with...Read More
Time of Reckoning For Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Center stage on Wall Street this week: the plight (fate?) of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Both entities took big plunges yesterday, and are now fetching prices not seen since the early ’90’s. Why should home buyers and sellers care? Just as the Federal Reserve is the...Read More
