Calling the Bottom — One Market at a TimeAsking whether “the housing market has bottomed yet?” strikes me a little like asking, “is it Spring yet?” The answer depends on where you are. So, it’s certainly Spring in the middle of the U.S. Meanwhile, at least this week in the Twin Cities, it certainly doesn’t...Read More
Attributes of Tear-Down Neighborhoods I’ve posted previously about the somewhat counter-intuitive attributes of tear-down houses (“Tear-Down Economics,” “Contender . . . or Pretender?”), so I’m not going to revisit the analysis here. However, tear-down neighborhoods — areas with lots of tear-down activity — also have their own attributes. Here’s what they seem to have in...Read More
Extreme Makeover – Minneapolis Edition In its hey day, this 1930 Tudor near Minneapolis’ Cedar Lake was a masterpiece: custom tile everywhere, lath-and-plaster construction, hand-carved crown moldings, high-end masonry, walnut and cherry wood throughout. Not to mention a grand staircase, and a surprisingly modern floor plan. However, the owners hadn’t been able to keep up...Read More
[Note: Please go to “Firing Your Realtor – Part 1” to see the beginning of this post] Three. Poor or no feedback from prospective Buyers. As I like to tell clients, the best feedback any home seller can receive is a full-price, non-contingent offer from a financially qualified Buyer (even better: several of them!). However, in...Read More
How to Know When: Four Signs Just because a home hasn’t sold doesn’t mean that the Realtor is doing a bad job. But, if your home is lingering on the market, it’s imperative to know why. Here are four signs that the problem may not be your home, but your Realtor. One. Mediocrity (or worse)....Read More
“I Can’t Find Anything I Like” “Water, water everywhere [but] nary a drop to drink.”–Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” One of the conundrums of a housing market supposedly flooded with inventory is Buyers who lament that they can’t find anything they like. What’s going on? Is it just their imagination? Actually,...Read More
