Parade of Homes, Spring Fall 2014 [Editor’s Note: Broken clocks are accurate twice a day. Similarly, my post about the Parade of Homes — and the challenges and opportunities it presents for home buyers and their Realtors — is correct twice a year. The first time is the Spring Parade; the second is the Fall...Read More
Test your knowledge of the Twin Cities housing market, and answer the following multiple choice question: Where is the to-be-built home pictured above and below located — and what is the asking price? A. Edina’s South Harriet Park neighborhood; asking price: $1.2 million. B. Edina’s Morningside neighborhood; asking price: $875k. C. Between Diamond Lake and...Read More
“Full Plate” Syndrome (Unrelated to Thanksgiving) When a old, undersized house in a hot neighborhood for tear-downs and new construction fails to sell right away, what might be the explanation? In fact, just such a home debuted on the market near Minneapolis’ Cedar Lake this week. One possibility is that the home is overpriced. Theory...Read More
Irking the Neighbors I can certainly understand how my client thought that the developer had had a change of heart. More than two months after they sold their home to the builder this Spring, the new owner was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, the neglected property was becoming increasingly derelict (overgrown lawn, broken window, missing gutter extensions,...Read More
From More Square Feet to More Volume, Cont. I’ve discussed previously the trend toward homes not necessarily with more square feet, but more “volume” (higher ceilings, more and larger windows, wider stairs and halls, etc. — see, “Not More Square Feet, More per Square Foot“; “Cranking Up the Volume“). That trend applies to the exterior...Read More
Sold Price $135k below List? Ouch! One of the characteristics of a Buyer’s market is Buyers wresting steep discounts from the Seller’s asking price. Even so, a $135k discount — from an already reduced $800k asking price — stands out for sheer magnitude (note: to see the unabridged report, go to “display” in the lower...Read More
