“Inventory Alert Notification” Once upon a time, a shoplifter (at least one who was detected) was met with a hail of “Stop! Thief!” With the advent of electronic tags, that changed to alarm bells, flashing lights, or other gaudy displays. Today? At least at Ridgedale the other day, I heard this polite-but-loud announcement over the public...Read More
Obama Exits, Stage Right Left As the 2016 stock market rout deepens (the Dow is down over 400 pts. so far this am), shell-shocked investors are all wondering: when will the pain stop? Unfortunately, it’s not clear to me that it will be anytime soon. That’s because markets hate uncertainty, and the biggest uncertainty hovering...Read More
MLS Style Category Definitions 1. (SF) One Story (ONEST) One story single-family house 2. (SF) One 1/2 Stories (ONEHF) One 1/2 story single-family house. Second floor only has adequate ceiling height in a portion of it. 3. (SF) Two Stories (TWOST) Two story single-family house. Has adequate ceiling height throughout upper story. 4. (SF) More...Read More
Top of Fifth Inning — or Ninth? If you accept that the housing market is cyclical (I do), then you inevitably find yourself wrestling with these two questions: 1) how long are housing cycles on average?; and 2) where in the current cycle are we? The best empirical data I’m aware of suggests that housing...Read More
Millennials Become Acquainted With “The Golden Rule” It makes sense to me that 20-something’s are unfamiliar with such technological relics as VHS tapes, MP3 files, and analog watches (what everyone used to just call “watches” — you know, the ones with a minute hand and hour hand). But, I have to confess that I didn’t...Read More
Flight to Safety Keeps a Lid on Interest Rates The flip side of a (very) rocky stock market so far this year is cheaper mortgages for home buyers. That’s because investors seeking safety pile into bonds. That drives bond prices up . . . and interest rates down (bond prices and interest rates move inversely...Read More
