Passing on Overpriced Listings Everyone knows this famous passage from The Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” —Reinhold Niebuhr Here’s my version for listing agents (Realtors representing home sellers): “God, grant me...Read More
A decade ago, housing experts warned — incorrectly, it turns out — of a Tsunami of “shadow” inventory waiting to flood the then-moribund housing market, and drag prices still lower. See, “Barry Ritholtz Issues Mea Culpa on Housing.” The source of all those homes? Banks sitting on millions of foreclosures nationally. Fortunately, it never happened: banks bundled...Read More
Realtors & Clients Parting Ways You can’t take it anymore. Close to the edge for awhile, they finally did something that crossed the line. So, you fire them. Clients axing their Realtor? Try, Realtors firing their clients. Irreconcilable Differences No, I don’t believe it happens that much, because most clients’ expectations and conduct are reasonable,...Read More
Setting the Bar (Way) Too High One of my favorite Op-Ed page cartoons shows an unconscious patient being operated on by a team of doctors. Suddenly, there’s a spike in the patient’s vital signs, whereupon he bolts upright, and loudly announces to the laboring surgeons: “You should know that I’m the most successful personal injury...Read More
Passing on Overpriced Listings Everyone knows this famous passage from The Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. –Reinhold Niebuhr Here’s my version for listing agents (Realtors representing home sellers): God, grant me...Read More
Market Appreciation vs. Home Depreciation “In all cases in which work is produced by the agency of heat, a quantity of heat is consumed which is proportional to the work done.” –Rudolf Clausius, first law of thermodynamics “An overpriced, “For Sale” home depreciates in value faster than an appreciating housing market rises.” –Ross Kaplan, first...Read More
