Shortage of Sellers/Surfeit of Buyers [Note: the following column is dedicated to the memory of Ned Krahl, a good friend who passed away unexpectedly over the Summer, and whose opinions and sense of humor are sorely missed.] On an elemental level, every asset bubble in history is reducible to a simple phenomenon: a (relatively) sustained...Read More
Just Don’t Say “Retired” There are emeritus professors and emeritus law firm partners. Why shouldn’t there be “emeritus Realtors?” ( I just ran across a retired Twin Cities Realtor billing themselves that way, and think the term has a nice ring to it). Of course, the catch is that Realtors supposedly never retire . ....Read More
Just Doing What a Good (Ex)Attorney Would Do or, The Many Guises of CYA Occasionally, clients assume that, because of my legal background, I can field a (non-real estate) question or problem that they’d otherwise have to take to their attorney. Even if I could — increasingly doubtful after a 20-plus year hiatus from practicing...Read More
Useful Information Nonetheless If you weren’t aware, Twin Cities Realtors usually have their office meetings each Tuesday morning, just before the weekly Broker Tour. Part of that meeting is devoted to networking — typically, starting with new listings, then price reductions, then pre-list’s, and finally Buyer needs. Lopsided Buyer Needs If you’re networking a Buyer...Read More
“We Can Always Drop the Price, Right?” Yes, But . . . Don’t leftovers come after Thanksgiving, not before? Not when it comes to the housing market. In my own neighborhood close to Minneapolis’ Cedar Lake, I’m aware of at least half a dozen very nice homes which came on the market as far back as...Read More
“Full Plate” Syndrome (Unrelated to Thanksgiving) When a old, undersized house in a hot neighborhood for tear-downs and new construction fails to sell right away, what might be the explanation? In fact, just such a home debuted on the market near Minneapolis’ Cedar Lake this week. One possibility is that the home is overpriced. Theory...Read More
