How Did 2008 Home Buyers Fare? I always do a double take when The New York Times mentions Minneapolis in an article on housing. So, let’s say that today’s article, “Buying a Home During a Pandemic” — which mentions not one but two Minneapolis homeowners — had my full attention. The article’s author, Ron Lieber,...Read More
Looking for Signs of a Market Top Once upon a time, a sure-fire yellow (or red!) flag for frothy home prices was Realtors buying homes for themselves, either as investments, or to fix up and flip. See, “Insider Buying & the Housing Market: Why Realtors are a CONTRARIAN Indicator.” The logic: agents were most bullish...Read More
Forget the Flowers & Candy Want to make it a REALLY memorable Valentine’s Day? Buy your significant other a house! Although I’ve never had clients who celebrated that way, I’m guessing that they’re out there, somewhere. 🙂 P.S.: I have had clients who purchased a home to celebrate a major birthday or anniversary —...Read More
“Good Luck With That” Department I fielded a call the other week from a prospective Buyer who must have just skimmed “How to Make Millions in Real Estate” (or some such title) at Barnes & Noble. I doubt that such an approach ever worked, but it’s a guaranteed loser — and a time sink — in a...Read More
Stock “Comp’s” vs. Housing “Comp’s” If you want to buy 100 shares of Google or Amazon, what are the comp’s? How much the last Buyer paid a fraction of a second ago. After all, stock is fungible: every share (at least common) is the same as every other. Nanoseconds vs. Weeks (Months?) Now, assume you...Read More
Real Estate Layaway It’s not just flat-panel TV’s and furniture that can be bought now, and paid for later. So can residential real estate. Sort of. Unbeknownst to at least some Buyers, it’s customary for there to be a 6-8 week lag between consummating a deal, and closing (that is, paying for the house and...Read More
