An App Acronym That Captures the Zeitgeist OK, so the term is easily confused — at least by someone with dyslexia — for another, not-so-nice acronym (“MOFO” — look it up). And the new app designed to exploit “FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out) targets insecure, 20-something social climbers (called “CouchCache,” it lets users give others...Read More
2011 vs. 2012 ECRL’s (Edina Realty City Lakes Awards) A year ago, to have the (dubious) distinction of selling the least expensive property in the City Lakes office, the cut-off was $20,000 or so (someone actually sold a $10,000(!) home in 2011). This year? The cut-off almost doubled, to just under $40,000. Estimated commission on...Read More
Housing Market Sign of Recovery #24 The last time I discussed Realogy on these pages, it was to speculate about how soon the company was going to file for bankruptcy. Fast forward almost four years, and the news is quite different: “The parent of mortgage brokers Coldwell Banker and Century 21 made a big return...Read More
Stealth Factor: ‘% of Original List Price Received’ “Sellers received an average of 95% of their list price, up 3.6% from July, 2011 and well above the 88.3% seen in early 2011.” –“The Skinny“; August 10, 2012 While everyone focuses on “headline” gauges of home prices — indices compiled by Case-Shiller, MAAR, etc. — they’re...Read More
Paid-Off House as Piggy Bank To the already long list of unintended consequences of zero percent interest rates (“ZIRP”) — squeezed savers, flush investment banks (and bankers), volatile commodity prices, etc., etc. — add one more: lack of (home) Seller motivation, especially amongst long-time owners with little or no debt. Why the lack of motivation? Because they...Read More
Cash Crop (Hopefully) Did you know that Realtors have “farms?” Not for raising corn, soy beans or livestock. Rather, a Realtor farm is all about cultivating . . . future clients. Realtor Marketing Drawn from the Realtor’s “sphere of influence” (another industry buzz term), a farm often times is a geographic area — a couple block area around...Read More
