It sounds like a crank phone call that teenagers would make. But, it’s actually my question for the Minneapolis Association of Realtors (“MAAR”), before I “pop” for the new iPhone 5 and render my barely 2 month-old dongle obsolete. It’s that dongle — or adapter — which serves as an eKey (aka “Smart Key”) that lets...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
In G.O.D. (“Gold on Delivery”) We Trust What happens in a tough economy where more people are paying their bills late (and some, not at all)? Creditors start insisting on being paid upfront. I don’t know about other fields, but for Realtors, “C.O.D.” seems to be the order of the day — and has been...Read More
Upper Bracket Squeezed by Jumbo Bottleneck At a time when some mortgage products are showing signs of life, jumbo mortgages are hard to get and expensive, making it difficult for many would-be move-up buyers to take action. —Minneapolis Association of Realtors (6/22/09) Want a quick, simple handle on today’s housing market? Take $417,000, the limit...Read More
Rebutting Ritholtz on “Housing Affordability” The [Housing Affordability Index] as presently constructed is utterly worthless. It provides little or no insight into how affordable US Housing actually is. Further, what is omitted from the index is especially relevant to the problems occurring in the housing market today. The Index fails to account for — or...Read More
