Addicted to (Spoiled By?) Ultra-Low Interest Rates Two years ago, when the shortage of housing inventory in the Twin Cities first became apparent, the leading theory was that underwater homeowners literally couldn’t afford to sell.* Now that local housing prices have rebounded significantly, that theory . . . umm, holds less water. With current Twin Cities housing inventory the...Read More
Putting Today’s Record Low Housing Inventory in Context Economists distinguish between “real” and “nominal” numbers. So, someone who made $40,000 in 1989 (25 years ago) and now makes $60,00 would certainly appear to be better off. But they’re not. The reason: prices have doubled since then, which means that — to have simply kept pace...Read More
Overreaching Sellers (& Their Side Effects) The big story in the housing market so far this year has been (lack of) inventory. As previously discussed on this blog, that has resulted — at least in the lower price rungs dominated by first-time Buyers — in multiple offers, upward price pressure, and lots of frayed Buyers (and...Read More
How to Go From 13,000 Homes for Sale to . . . 20 (or Zero!) Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. –Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” Yes, inventory is notoriously tight this Spring. But there ARE 13,000 homes for sale in the Twin Cities at the moment, spanning literally dozens...Read More
Direct Mail Deluge: Are Realtors Overdoing it? If I were a homeowner thinking about selling, and received a letter from a Realtor trumpeting that “Now is a GREAT Time to Sell!,” “I May Have a Buyer For Your Home!,” etc. — my interest would definitely be piqued. By the time I received the third (or...Read More
Pre-Market and Off-Market Sales Barely over one month into the New Year, my clients are in the middle of four different deals. Deal #1 is an expired listing that had been rented for the last year, where an interested Buyer popped up after Jan. 1 to inquire about the home’s availability. Fortuitously, the about-to-expire lease...Read More
