Practice Tips for Newer — and Not-So-New — Twin Cities Buyers’ Agents What does the Fall 2018 Parade of Homes ” set to start this Saturday (September 8) in the Twin Cities ” have to do with passing out Realtor business cards? Just this: if a Buyer you’re working with goes through a Parade home and decides to...Read More
Nesting Instinct It’s not just would-be Buyers who are tirelessly searching for a home this Fall, before the arrival of colder temps and harsher weather. So are critters (and insects, if that’s a separate category). The list includes bees, wasps, mice, squirrels, & raccoons (a few years ago in the Twin Cities, it was even...Read More
Two (Oversized?) New Homes in Place of One I know firsthand that the neighbors aren’t thrilled with the increased density (I live nearby). Nor are they happy with the size of the new homes, which dwarf the next-door homes in both height and finished square feet. But, I certainly understand the business logic of the...Read More
What Bill Gates Did (Reportedly) It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, A beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine?… –Fred Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” It’s no secret that new construction can be annoying for the neighbors. The endless procession of contractors, the noise, the debris —...Read More
Prefab Lite You expect to see 100′ foot cranes hovering over commercial construction sites. New residential homes, not so much. Yet that’s exactly what motorists, pedestrians, and neighbors saw last month on the 2800 block of Inglewood Avenue in St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill neighborhood. In fact, drivers had to view the massive crane from either 28th Street or...Read More
Cheap(er) Copper = Less Expensive New Homes? “U.S. Housing Starts Fall 11% in October.” —headline, WSJ (11/18/2015) According to today’s Wall Street Journal, copper prices just fell to fresh six-year lows (about $2/lb.), in part due to softness in new home construction. Which begs the reciprocal question: will falling copper prices reduce the cost of new...Read More
