Price as a Function of Market Time Assuming a “For Sale” home is well-prepped, priced and marketed, is there a way to know how much it sold for prior to closing, when the number will become public? That is, without finding out from the Buyer, the Seller, or their agents (who shouldn’t be sharing that...Read More
Three Caveats — & One Big Outlier Prices in St. Louis Park’s “first alphabet” Fern Hill neighborhood have been appreciating smartly over the years. Which only makes sense: the high-demand neighborhood is just west of Cedar Lake; close to downtown Minneapolis and Uptown (but not too close); and has been enjoying a wave of major...Read More
How to Show Up in Twice as Many Home Buyer Searches Psychologically, $299,900 somehow just seems cheaper to Buyers than $300,000 (just like $2.99 a gallon appears to be less than $3). But, it’s a mistake to price residential real estate that way — at least around century and half-century marks ($100k and $50k). That’s...Read More
Real Estate Math I showed clients an upper bracket Edina home yesterday that’s been languishing on the market — at ever-lower prices — for 3(!) years. The reason(s) became apparent literally 10 steps in the door: every square foot of the very large home needs updating (the online photos nicely camouflaged that). Given the home’s...Read More
Realtor Rationalizations Why would a Realtor quote a would-be Seller an unrealistically high list price? Because the agent believes it’s the only way they’ll get hired. The practice — called “buying the listing” — virtually assures that the home will sit, ignored, while it accumulates market time, until eventually the agent broaches the subject of...Read More
Question #2: Calculate How Much per Square Foot Quick! Test your knowledge of today’s Twin Cities housing market, and guess how much this cute, 2 Bedroom/1 Bath South Minneapolis rambler with 864 FSF (above ground) is listed for: A. $89k B. $149k C. $249k D. $385k Before I give the answer, here are a couple clues: –The...Read More
