“Wait ‘Till Next Year Spring!” A lot of prospective Minnesota home sellers are weighing that decision right now. Of course, many don’t have a choice: a new job, bigger/smaller family, or health issues may be forcing them to make a change, now. Other Sellers have so much prep to do that, realistically, a Spring debut...Read More
Passing on Unsaleable Listings Want a good Realtor to list (and ideally, sell) your home? In a Twin Cities market full of fussy Buyers and lots of inventory (with notable exceptions), you’d better meet the following three criteria. One. Be motivated. No, “motivated” doesn’t mean “desperate.” To a Realtor, a “motivated seller” is someone who’s willing...Read More
On Golden Pond? Guess Again You’d certainly guess that the rustic-looking home (cabin?) pictured above is somewhere in northern Minnesota, on one of the state’s 10,000 lakes (actually, well over 11,000). Guess again. In fact, the home is located on the northwest corner of Minneapolis’ Cedar Lake, very much in the middle of a 3 million...Read More
How Full — or Empty — is the Foreclosure Pipeline? Today’s New York Times includes a story that — at least at first blush — has ominous implications for Minneapolis and the overall Twin Cities housing market: In Minneapolis, lenders are bringing in at least six foreclosed homes for each they sell. –Eric Dash, “Banks...Read More
Market Misconceptions Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. –Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” All politics is local. –former U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill All real estate is local. –Corollary, Ross Kaplan One of the biggest misconceptions about today’s housing market is that there is a surfeit of homes available...Read More
Handing Out Rain Snow Checks No, 12-plus inches of snow and near-whiteout conditions in the Twin Cities don’t bode well for open houses this afternoon. That’s not great news for would-be home sellers and agents holding their houses open. However, the storm — and a temporarily halted housing market — is definitely good news for...Read More
