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
Explaining Inventory Pileups In a Seller’s Market Contrary to popular perception, the most common explanation for skydiving fatalities isn’t due to a parachute failing to open. Rather, the first parachute opens partially. Then, instead of cutting the first chute loose and pulling the reserve, the (understandably) panicked skydiver immediately opens the backup — which runs into the fouled,...Read More
Four Explanations “Man came by to hook up my cable TV We settled in for the night my baby and me We switched ’round and ’round ’til half-past dawn There was fifty-seven channels and nothin’ on” –Bruce Springsteen; lyrics, “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On)”** It’s not just Buyers’ imagination: there really IS a dearth of...Read More
Hungry Twin Cities Buyers Face Limited Inventory Want to know what’s going on in the Twin Cities housing market now in a nutshell? It’s all in the arrows: Employment/Job Growth: ↑ Housing Inventory (Listings): ↓ Showings: ↑ Mortgage Rates: ↓ Mortgage Applications: ↑ Rents: ↑ Net it all out, and what emerges is a picture of...Read More
Shift to a Buyer’s Market? “Told ‘Ya So” (Back in September!) Compare the Star Trib headline (above) — just published online — with the excerpt below from this blog: “The Twin Cities housing market experienced a shift over the Summer. From scarcity and multiple offers, we’ve now transitioned to a more balanced market ” or even one that...Read More
Soft(er) Summer Pricing Housing market conventional wisdom is that Buyers have more choices — but pay higher prices — in the busier Spring market vs. waiting for Fall. Fortunately for Twin Cities Buyers (less so for Sellers), there are some early indications that that may not be the case this year. So, my Buyers —...Read More
