Just West of Cedar Lake Where: 2508 Joppa Ave. South just west of Cedar Lake. What: Sprawling 4 BR/3 Bath Rambler with over 3,500 finished square feet on a gorgeous, 80′ x 147′ lot. How Much: Just reduced $20k, to $569,900. When: listed May 11 (11 days on market). Who: represented by Ross Kaplan, Edina Realty...Read More
Do-it-Yourself Price Reductions “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Approaching the holidays, many would-be home sellers are loath to take a price reduction, even if there’s abundant evidence that that’s overdue. Why? They know that — with fewer Buyers active —...Read More
The Problem(s) With Blind Solicitations “To hell with all this waiting around. Let’s go kill something.” –One vulture on a tree bough to another. In a housing market characterized by scarce inventory and frustrated Buyers, it seems like an obvious tactic (if not smart Realtor marketing): proactive Buyers’ agents who send a blind letter to...Read More
Realtor Peer Review Fortunately, the only thing that (possibly) gets hurt in the wake of a real estate “S.W.A.T.” team swooping in is the feelings of the listing agent (representing the Seller) getting all the feedback.* The term refers to the practice of several colleagues helping a fellow Realtor size up a problem listing and...Read More
Would-Be Home Sellers Beware “If your parents don’t have children, you won’t either.” –old joke. “If your home doesn’t get showings, it won’t get offers, either.” –real estate equivalent Not a few would-be Sellers, arguing for a too-high listing price, rationalize that “Buyers always come in low, so why not leave a little (or a...Read More
“If a property is worth $250k and you ask $350k and reduce it to $325k, it’s not an indication of a problem in the market. It’s a problem with overpricing.” -Hall F. Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens; “Prices Drop for Luxury New York Real Estate”; The NYT (1/15/16). OK, I have a confession: I...Read More
