Lakeville MN Home Sales Exceed 2010 Totals - 11/26/11 10:04 AM
Lakeville MN Home Sales Exceed 2010 Totals
Another Minnesota city's total year to date home sales have exceeded the entire 2010 totals.  According to information supplied by Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Lakeville's number of closed residential sales has just reached 607, topping the 2010 total of 605.  In a year as challenging as 2011, this suggests that there are some improvements in the Lakeville housing market.
The immobility of underwater homeowners still exists.  People who could afford a higher payment are still stuck in homes they otherwise would have replaced with a move up home. Eventually the lending industry … (8 comments)

There is no Black Friday for your landlord - 11/25/11 11:00 AM
There is no Black Friday for your landlord
Black Friday is the day that retailers are supposed to begin turning a profit for the year.  Millions of shoppers voluntarily turn over their money, or their credit in exchange for stuff they recently decided that they cannot live without.  The retailers are happy because they will make a profit this year.
Mr. Landlord, however, is unable to celebrate Black Friday.  Why? He cannot celebrate Black Friday or any other day when his investment moves from loss to profit because he always turns a profit.  He has to spread his celebrations over the … (2 comments)

Thanksgiving -- One unique reason for me to be thankful - 11/24/11 12:32 PM
Thanksgiving is a time when most of us take a little time to reflect on the blessings that have been part of our lives.  Although they are certainly reasons to be thankful, most of them are reruns.  Most of us have been blessed over the last year with great friends and family, reasonable levels of health and wealth, and the opportunity to share our good fortunes. 
My Thanksgiving is like most other folks' with one extra reason to be thankful this year.  Either today, if the Packers - Lions game goes lame, or tomorrow if it doesn't, I will be swapping … (3 comments)

Some stuff I just don't understand - 11/21/11 05:09 PM
There are certain conformities in any business, and real estate is no exception -- almost.  When a seller wants to sell a home and enlists the employment of a real estate broker or agent, there are business formalities that are always followed.  There is a written representation agreement between seller and broker for the broker to market and sell the property.  Likewise, there is a written agreement between buyer and representing broker in all but the most primitive of areas.
When the buyer wants to make an offer, the appropriate forms are completed and signed, and they are sent to the … (2 comments)

Both must wait until the other has passed - 11/17/11 12:05 PM
Both must wait until the other has passed
There has been a report floating around the internet for years that says there is a law, usually reputed to be in Washington, that two trains coming to a crossing must both wait until the other has passed.  I've seen variations of this absurdity.  Once I found a rural intersection with a four-way yield, about the same as the train law. 
Another absurdity is the rhetoric about the housing industry and the economy, unemployment levels to be more specific.  The story goes like this, "Housing will return to normal when the economy recovers … (2 comments)

The real estate crash didn’t just happen … - 11/16/11 10:54 AM
Judy Chapman, an Illinois real estate professional, has presented some insight into the reasons the housing market crashed, taking along with it one financial institution, and crippling a few others.  I think there could have been a drop in home prices without the legislative help that Judy cites, but not a full fledged crash as we have experienced.
Via Judy Chapman (Koenig & Strey Real Living):
The real estate crash didn’t just happen … it was orchestrated like a symphony.
Nothing as dramatic as seeing home values skyrocket seemingly overnight from the late 1990s until 2005, only to crash like a boulder, … (2 comments)

Rosemount MN 2011 home sales exceed 2010 totals - 11/15/11 12:58 PM
Rosemount MN 2011 home sales exceed 2010 totals
Sold home totals in Rosemount have passed the total units sold in 2010.  According to Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota data, total homes sold in Rosemount in 2010 were 337, and the year to date total is 341.  With another 56 accepted offers soon to close, 2011 looks like it has been a great year for both sellers and buyers in Rosemount.
Sellers who price their homes close to market value are finding that there are sufficient numbers of willing and able buyers searching for homes in Rosemount.  If you're thinking about … (1 comments)

Time the Market? Why not Time Your Life Instead? - 11/12/11 12:18 PM
Time the Market?  Why not Time Your Life Instead?
There are lots of real estate professionals trying to convince potential home buyers that now is the time to buy.  They typically cite home price trends and mortgage loan interest rates, along with a suggestion that timing the market is difficult and usually not productive.  While I agree with much of what is published, there is one important question I would like to ask.  So what?
People considering buying a home, either a first home or one to replace a home that no longer suits their needs, are consumers.  They are not … (3 comments)

Tonight's Republican debate will focus on the economy with emphasis on housing - 11/09/11 11:07 AM
Tonight's Republican debate will focus on the economy with emphasis on housing
Tonight's Republican candidate debate may be worth a look.  One of the moderators, CNBC's Steve Liesman said this morning on Squawk Box that he and the other moderators will be asking some specific questions about the candidates' positions on the housing depression. 
Having watched the moderators in action, it will be interesting to see if the candidates can get by with their often off topic responses to difficult questions.  My guess is that it will be difficult to answer a question about how to fix housing with a statement … (2 comments)

Apple Valley MN exceeds 2010 total home sales - 11/08/11 09:44 AM
Apple Valley MN exceeds 2010 total home sales
Last month, I wrote of the likelihood that Apple Valley would exceed 2010 in total homes sold.  According to the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Apple Valley has passed 2010 in total sales as of today.  The total number of homes sold in Apple Valley is 620, and the total for all of 2010 was 618.  With 65 additional sales pending closing and another month and a half before year end, 2011 looks like the year when the market has started to show some signs of life.
Sellers who have come to … (0 comments)

When is a loophole not a loophole? - 11/07/11 12:49 PM
There's a lot of talk about closing loopholes to reduce the federal deficit.  It seems that just about everyone wants to close just about all loopholes, sort of.  President Obama wants to make millionaires and billionaires stop deducting certain expenses on corporate jets, including accelerated depreciation.  That's a great proposal for getting votes since most voters don't have corporate jets.  I might even support that one.
What about the loophole that lets homeowners with mortgage debt get a nice tax deduction?  Is that a loophole?  Yep, it sure is.  What about the loophole that allows self employed people to deduct health … (2 comments)

Underwater but want to move up to a better place? - 11/06/11 09:27 AM
Underwater but want to move up to a better place?
There is a half generation of homeowners who want to move up to a place that fits their current situation better.  Many couples who bought two bedroom town house and condos in the mid 2000's are now growing families of four or five.  They are not deadbeats, and they can afford their monthly payments, even more.  They just can't sell their homes and buy another because of declined values to their current home.  Many of them are considering alternatives to their current living arrangements.
Some folks have decided to just remain … (4 comments)

Happy Bank Transfer Day - 11/05/11 10:07 AM
Happy Bank Transfer Day
Today has apparently been designated by the folks in the street as the day to move your accounts to credit unions and community banks.  Since the street people claim that 99% of us have nothing, I assume that the transfer will have to come from the other one percent.  Perhaps that will happen, or maybe the rest of us really have enough wealth to make a difference.  I don't know.
What is hard to deny is that credit unions deserve our business.  Why?  They deserve our business because they charge less almost always.  My credit union offers … (1 comments)

Disturbing Trend? -- Kitchens Without Refrigerators - 11/01/11 04:21 PM
Disturbing Trend? -- Kitchens Without Refrigerators
When discussing the various components of marketing with my seller-clients, we touch on the three elements of a successful sale, pricing, packaging and promoting.  Each has its purpose, and each depends on the proper execution of the other two. While the bulk of the promoting responsibility rests on my shoulders, and pricing is a decision that requires some trust in my analytical work to suggest a viable target, packaging needs the active participation of the owner of the home.
Taking a short tour of a seller's home will reveal most of the maintenance and repair … (9 comments)

An attempt to collect a debt - 11/01/11 10:55 AM
Last week, Chase Bank (apparently of Manila) contacted me with the message that they were calling in "An attempt to collect a debt."  They alleged that they did not receive my mortgage payment. The payment is an electronic transaction that is set to occur monthly through my credit union (of course I'm not foolish enough to have an account with a bank). The first idiot was adamant that I needed to wire payment immediately, and that I had obviously not sent it yet. Up a level to a supervisor who told me that the electronic payment I had been making monthly … (5 comments)