Learning to Love (OK, Like) Split-Level’s What’s so great about opening the front door of a home and finding yourself standing in the middle of the Living Room? Or maybe Kitchen? That’s been my experience in any number of newer, upper bracket homes — homes that supposedly boast the latest and greatest of everything, and...Read More
When Rigged Markets Become Unrigged “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” –Abraham Maslow “When asset bubbles predominate, everything looks like a pin.” –Corollary; Ross Kaplan In over 40 years(!) watching the stock market, I’ve conservatively witnessed at least 100 dips of 5% or more (20% corrections are rarer, and...Read More
Tough Crowd (& Not Very Hungry*) At least in the Twin Cities, Realtors traditionally debut their new listings on Broker Tour, held each Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. To get their fellow agents to come, the listing (host) agent will often offer food, prizes or other goodies like gas cards or restaurant vouchers....Read More
“Volkswagen AG shares plunged Tuesday on speculation a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit could potentially cost the company tens of billions of dollars in penalties, significantly more than the $18 billion previously estimated.” —Wall Street Journal (1/5/2015) In a post last Fall titled, “Calculating VW’s Financial & Legal Hit From Emissions Scandal,” my back-of-the-envelope calculations suggested...Read More
New Construction in St. Louis Park’s Lake Forest Neighborhood — and Lots of Renovation & Expansion Nearby “Instead of teardowns, the focus in St. Louis Park has been on home renovation and expansion. St. Louis Park is definitely an area where people are willing to invest. We see this in the area near our office...Read More