Lack of Supply = Higher Prices? Fellow Edina Realty agent (and blogger) Aaron Dickinson has a nice post shining a spotlight on a lightly heralded, not-so-overnight housing market development: the lack of Twin Cities homes for sale. In fact, as Aaron notes, the number of homes on the market locally in October — just over 21,000...Read More
Or Maybe That’s “Patience” My wife, who’s a physical therapist, has patients. On the other hand, I, as a Realtor, have clients. At least it seems that way most days. Of course, as my colleagues who specialize in short sales know . . . “patients” isn’t very far off.Read More
A Short Brief Short Sale Q&A Question #1: When doesn’t a homeowner care what their home sells for? Answer: When they’re not receiving the proceeds. Question #2: When does a homeowner not care what the Realtor’s commission is? Answer: When they’re not paying it. Question #3: When do both of the above apply? Answer: In...Read More
On the Plus Side, There’s a Lot Less Prep Once upon a time, listing presentations — essentially, a job interview for Realtors — took about an hour, and covered such things as the Realtor’s track record, credentials, marketing strategy, references, recent housing market activity, etc. Now? After exchanging social pleasantries and taking a quick house...Read More
Learning the Market — Twice; or Rinse “Flush and Repeat” What’s the worst thing about a short sale that doesn’t work out (depending on who you ask, the result 50% to 70% of the time)? From the would-be Buyer’s perspective, it’s the frustration and disappointment associated with having flushed months waiting on a home that, ultimately, wasn’t...Read More
Pro’s and Con’s It’s difficult advice to give a Buyer, but I ran into another agent recently who recommends that would-be Buyers in a short sale go ahead and deliver their earnest money check and perform their inspection — before the bank signals its OK. Many (all?) Buyers are hesitant to do that, because if the bank does not agree...Read More
