discussion: Farewell... and thanks for your good words
- 10/15/08 09:38 AM
This is my last blog entry in this luxury real estate blog. After more than a year of blogging on my ActiveRain blog, I'm afraid my time has come to an end. I'm about to move on to something new and scary, but I suppose change always involves some degree of fear and discomfort.Thank you very much, everyone who has taken the time to share their thoughts on this blog. I'm sorry if I wasn't able to respond to all of your comments, but I definitely read them all and tried to incorporate what I learned into future posts. I have grown … (11 comments)
discussion: Credit lenders suffering from withdrawal
- 09/25/08 04:17 AM
I am sorry to keep talking about sad things in my luxury real estate blog entries, but I just read an article in CNN entitled "Ex-bankers on pushing customers to rack up debt" and it once again brought up many familiar concerns to my mind on the topic of consumer debt. I wish that I could talk about happy topics. I would much prefer to discuss luxury properties or any other topic, including how getting adequate sleep can lead to more success, but, alas, I feel it much more pressing to focus on the problems upon us.I am absolutely disgusted by … (0 comments)
discussion: Fear of falling
- 09/18/08 04:35 AM
As promised in my last luxury real estate blog entry, here is my discussion of some meaty topics I've wanted to talk about for a little while. The past few weeks have been pretty thrilling, wouldn't you say? Wall Street dropped an incredible 504 points on Monday and 449 points on Wednesday. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, organizations designed to create stability, have failed. Other financial institutions, once seemingly healthy and sound, are facing bankruptcy and other troubles. Think that's bad enough? Russia's stock market is doing considerably worse. Okay, that's the bad news. Now let's take a step back and … (2 comments)
discussion: Luxury vacations are a steal right now
- 09/11/08 10:37 AM
I don't have a whole lot of time today, but I just wanted to share an interesting CNN article entitled "The staycation effect: 5 reasons to travel now." Because people have been very wise with their money this summer and have not gone on as many vacations, right now is a great time to take a vacation. Many hotels and luxury resorts are offering special discounts to entice people to get out of their homes and into a luxury community.As soon as I saw this story I thought of Andrew Harper. They're the experts on luxury hotels and travel, and they've … (1 comments)
discussion: Manmade global warming a costly deception
- 09/05/08 05:19 AM
I recently finished writing an interesting article for the winter 2009 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine. The article is on "green" homes, and it was a challenge to write, mainly because I have a number of concerns about the current global-warming scare. I was able to find a lot of good in "green" homes, especially their energy savings and positive health effects on residents. I shied away from discussing their environmental effects, since I am unconvinced that they will have any real ones, and saying that they will might give people a false sense of security.To be sure, I am all for … (2 comments)
discussion: Higher education is becoming worthless
- 08/22/08 05:26 AM
A while ago I stepped back from writing about luxury real estate to discuss a terribly destructive force that threatens to destroy families and make people miserable: debt. I would like to discuss something that I find to be just as dangerous as addiction to debt - the illogically high cost of earning a college degree.I read a potentially explosive story on CNN yesterday about a bubble in the cost of higher education that makes the real-estate bubble or the tech crash in 2000 look tame in comparison.I'd like to start by talking about my experience in college. When I attended … (10 comments)
discussion: Ed McMahon and Donald Trump: Is this justice?
- 08/19/08 09:15 AM
Nick Antonicello, Director of Sales for Unique Homes, pointed out an interesting story to me last week in the Los Angeles Times Blog. You might have already heard about it, but I just want to put in my two cents about the whole affair.Peter Viles, Senior Producer for Real Estate at LATimes.com, wrote in his blog entry that Donald Trump, possibly the best-known real-estate developer in the world, is seeking to buy Ed McMahon's mansion to save him from foreclosure.In an even more bizarre turn of events, Mr. Trump now might be having some competition for buying Mr. McMahon's luxury home. … (6 comments)
discussion: Bloggers love helping other bloggers succeed
- 08/08/08 04:26 AM
Jim Walberg, the co-Owner/Broker of The Bay Area Team in San Francisco, told me something really cool a few days ago. He said, "Bloggers are the most open and sharing community I have found on the Internet. They want every blogger to win!" I have definitely found that to be true.As a blogger, I often find myself learning a great deal about what is effective and what is not from other bloggers with more experience than me. I have received a lot of positive feedback and support in my blogging from Eric Kodner, a luxury homes Broker with Wayzata Lakes Realty … (5 comments)
discussion: Luxury Real Estate Blog on the rise on Google
- 07/31/08 05:23 AM
Thanks in large part to all of the wonderful contributors within the global Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate network, the Luxury Real Estate Blog is making a tremendous ascent in its ranking on major search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN.www.LuxuryRealEstate.com is the most-viewed luxury real estate Web site in the world and it comes up first on most searches for luxury properties, luxury homes and luxury real estate. But the Luxury Real Estate Blog is fairly new and we're building it up to the heights of our main Web site. We owe much of our success to Jim Walberg, … (8 comments)
discussion: Drowning in debt
- 06/11/08 03:42 AM
I'd like to talk about a topic that is not necessarily a pressing matter for people buying luxury real estate, but which I still find very important: Debt. It is very sad to me to see so many people struggling with the enormous burden of debt.I recently read a wonderful editorial in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer entitled "The great seduction," in which author David Brooks points out the astonishing truth about debt. Brooks notes that for the past 30 years Americans have forgotten our noble heritage of frugality and living within our means. We have even forgotten the lessons of the Great … (5 comments)
discussion: Good news and a good question about the media
- 06/06/08 09:38 AM
I just have a quick thought to share today. I wish I had more time to write more about this topic, but I'll just do the best I can in a short space. I read a wonderfully informative Inman News article today entitled "Media create foreclosure hysteria." As you can tell by the headline, this article is trying to explain what various media sources are currently saying and not saying to make our current real-estate troubles seem even worse than they actually are.Perhaps there is not a concerted effort to cause a panic by inflating numbers. Maybe the reporters who are … (3 comments)
discussion: Do you EVER stop smiling?
- 06/04/08 03:49 AM
"Do you ever stop smiling?" One of my neighbors asked me that question on Monday, June 2, 2008 while I was walking back home from my mailbox after I got home from my job at LuxuryRealEstate.com. I was pleasantly startled by the question because it was asked by the young woman before me in a slightly exasperated way, as though it had been building inside of her for some time. She said that she has seen me on numerous occasions walking nearby and I always have a smile on my face. She found herself worrying that I was either hiding something … (2 comments)
discussion: My thoughts on the NAR/DOJ settlement
- 05/30/08 06:44 AM
I planned on writing this blog entry earlier this week on the proposed settlement between the National Association of REALTORS® and the Department of Justice that would allow multiple listing service members to make private MLS information available to non-members. However, immediately after the story broke, plenty of real-estate bloggers came up with all sorts of reactions, positive, negative and neutral. Now I'm having trouble coming up with something to add to their expert opinions. I hope you'll bear with me.I'll start by quoting Malcom Forbes (1919-1990), the father of Steve Forbes, current publisher of Forbes Magazine, "It's so much easier … (4 comments)
discussion: Life lessons from Ben Stein’s new movie “Expelled”
- 04/30/08 06:00 AM
On Saturday, April 25, 2008, my younger brother and I decided to make a rare visit to our local movie theater to watch a film we both felt a great desire to see. That movie was "Expelled," a documentary starring and co-written by the great actor and economist Ben Stein. In addition to starring in this movie, Mr. Stein actually had some incredible insights that he shared on the current luxury real estate market at the 6th Annual Luxury Real Estate Spring Retreat in San Diego two weeks ago. He is an incredibly brilliant man in a variety of fields.I really … (5 comments)
discussion: Confusation: Is now a good time to buy a home?
- 04/15/08 09:12 AM
I would like to share a confusation with you. What's a confusation? It's a mixture of confusion and conversation. I'm all for preserving the English language and avoiding the addition of new and pointless slang terms. But, at the same time, I enjoy having a little bit of fun with ideas and rules because of my playful nature. I would like to share some of my thoughts in an open, possibly random, way. So, without further ado, let's begin our confusation.According to a CNN article entitled "Majority not buying homes, poll shows," an Associated Press-AOL Money & Finance poll found that … (2 comments)
discussion: Looking beyond the gloom
- 03/18/08 09:57 AM
I was looking through Google News a few days ago, and a Reuters story caught my eye. The story is entitled "Mortgage broker, lender plan too little too late." It's a somewhat dreary article, describing the hopelessness of our situation and the inability of the current plan devised by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to save the U.S. economy and homeowners from our current troubles.There is so much fear in this article and many others I read each day. So much fear... I don't intend to make the same mistake twice and claim that there is nothing to fear about our … (4 comments)
discussion: The right way to make mistakes
- 02/27/08 05:53 AM
It seems like an oxymoron, but I believe there is a right way to make mistakes. In fact, I think that I'd like to see more luxury real estate professionals and other people making mistakes because that means that they're moving beyond their comfort zones and trying new things. It's scary to put yourself at risk. It hurts to be criticized. It's not a whole lot of fun to expose your weaknesses. But each of these frightening things can help us grow more than trying to always look polished and perfect.There's no need to hang your head in shame if you … (5 comments)
discussion: Choosing not to fear
- 02/20/08 07:38 AM
I am not a particularly pessimistic person. I believe that good eventually triumphs. I put my trust in "old-fashioned" values, such as honesty, saving for a rainy day, avoiding harmful substances and risks, and being kind to all people. Some or all of these things might be out of style right now, but I think that they will always be important. I'm not even sure if this introduction is relevant to what I want to talk about, but I just started writing what is on my mind and this is what came out. I hope you don't mind.I recently read a … (7 comments)
discussion: Sumptuous morsel of positive real-estate news
- 01/25/08 09:21 AM
I've been talking a lot about the media lately, but my thoughts just keep dwelling on this topic. When I see headlines talking about how many people believe we might be in a recession, I start to wonder if that is simply reflecting the fact that everyone hears and reads predictions of future downturns and problems in the news. However, sometimes we can find small morsels of hope buried under all of the sour gloom.For example, I recently spotted a short but wonderful article, entitled "'07 home prices not so bad after all," in The Seattle Times. It's just a few … (7 comments)
discussion: Why you shouldn’t fear drops in home prices
- 01/15/08 08:03 AM
"The drop in house prices is a good thing." So says a recent editorial, entitled "Relief for home buyers," in The Seattle Times. Exactly. Thank you, Seattle Times editors, for succinctly stating a fact that cuts to the heart of this matter. If prices are always rising, then that is certainly not a good thing for buyers, who have to pay more for the same home. Trends that are good for sellers will not be so good for buyers, and vice versa. Prices have been reaching all-time highs in the past few years, so the price dip that is occurring in … (5 comments)
My personal thoughts on luxury real estate, technology, news media and a variety of other related topics and trends. I also maintain the Luxury Real Estate Blog on LuxuryRealEstate.com.
This is my last blog entry in this luxury real estate blog. After more than a year of blogging on my ActiveRain blog, I'm afraid my time has come to an end. I'm about to move on to something new and scary, but I suppose change always involves some degree of fear and discomfort.Thank you very much, everyone who has taken the time to share their thoughts on this blog. I'm sorry if I wasn't able to respond to all of your comments, but I definitely read them all and tried to incorporate what I learned into future posts. I have grown … (11 comments)
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