What Did the Seller Know? Newlyweds Scott Strand and KK Thomson were delighted to close last fall on a modest rambler in Edina, where they both grew up and wanted to live after they got married. At the end of the year, though, the young couple got what Strand calls “a New Year’s surprise” —...Read More
New News? Or Recycled Rumors? Foreclosures across the country and the Twin Cities are likely to increase in the coming months, dashing hopes that the new year will deliver a rebound in housing prices, despite record-low mortgage rates and dwindling inventory. –Jim Buchta, “Home Values Could Take New Hit From Foreclosures“; Star Tribune (Jan. 2,...Read More
Uhh . . . You Might Want to Get a 2nd (Legal) Opinion There may be valid reasons to keep Lake Calhoun, “Lake Calhoun,” but I very much doubt that it’s because no one has the legal authority to change it: Last week, Minneapolis Park Board attorney Brian Rice issued an opinion saying the organization...Read More
“What Were They Thinking??” Department Fans of “Breaking Bad” (I am) will get a shock of recognition reading the following news item, from a couple weeks ago: An ill-conceived effort to get rid of a pesky bird at a cookie factory with a dose of bird shot backfired when a worker at a dough machine was hit...Read More
“How’s the Housing Market?” — Vol. 27 “Where” (location) is certainly one of the key qualifiers for anyone seeking to divine the health and direction of the housing market. But so is “what?” — as in “what kind of housing?” In the housing market, the key distinction is between existing and new housing. Conflicting Signals...Read More
Development Formula There are more than 80 distinct Chicago neighborhoods, and dozens of unofficial ones. All [of them] pretty much feature an El station surrounded by retail. –Chicago resident and tour guide Evelyn Thompson, quoted in A Fresh Take on Chicago“; The Star Tribune (7/25/2010) Exactly. Time to get those light rail stations up and...Read More
