I've been a part of the HomeServices of America family for almost 10 years now. While Edina Realty does hold several company-wide events each year, this only brings into the fold the few thousands of agents in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. While HomeServices has companies in 18 states and is the 2nd largest real estate brokerage in the country, there has not been a national convention to attend to meet new people, get new ideas, and to feel part of the bigger family. Now that Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices … [Read more...]
University of St. Thomas Housing Index: That’s Not Your Data
July 23, 2012 by 4 Comments
In 2011, The University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business started producing a report called the "Minneapolis St. Paul Residential Real Estate Index." I had heard about it at some point last year but didn't pay much attention. Then this year when I saw the report's authors being quoted in the local news media and the numbers they were reciting, a strange feeling hit me. I had seen these numbers before. I then did some research and looked over the entire contents of several months of their reports and … [Read more...]
Zillow’s Stats Are Full Of Shit
June 20, 2012 by 2 Comments
For years I have been frustrated with Zillow's Zestimates. I have countless cases where the sales prices of homes were wildly different than the Zestimates. They cause confusion and frustration every time I hear them brought up. Today was a breaking point. Even today, many years after they first started playing pin the price on the donkey, in my market they are STILL only within 10% of the sales price 53% of the time and 22% of the time, or over one in every five homes, they are off by more than 20%! … [Read more...]
Some Agents Piss Me Off
March 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment
This weekend I was out with a client showing a few homes when I came across an agent that had put out 19 signs and a set of balloons on a single intersection. When I do open houses I have put out 2-3 signs on a corner to catch people's eyes but this agent had the gall to litter the entire intersection with these obnoxious signs, many of which actually made it hard to see oncoming cross traffic. Communities regularly create and modify their sign ordinances to prevent sign pollution and agents like piss off the … [Read more...]
Shadow Inventory – The Housing Market’s Boogieman
February 1, 2012 by 4 Comments
April 2013 Update: These words are as true today as they were a year ago. For years now we've been hearing housing "experts" talk about the shadow housing inventory. This is apparently all the distressed housing backlog that has yet to make its way through the system. Depending on who you talk to, it may or may not include homeowners that are underwater (but current), people who have jobs now but might not later, or people who will decide to default just because everyone else is (the "herd … [Read more...]
Foreclosures: Doing the Right Thing
August 18, 2010 by 4 Comments
Today there is an article in the Star Tribune discussing options for homeowners that are underwater. Today this is a commonly discussed topic and one that shouldn't be ignored. The first couple in the article talk about their decision to walk away from their home. The article discusses their reasoning for walking away and they give some strong reasons why they did. My problem with this is that these are insanely well educated people that have decided to screw their lender and the rest of us and still believe … [Read more...]
Great Explanation on Trademarks and REALTORS
July 13, 2010 by 4 Comments
This isn't the typical nerdy stats or opinion piece I normally do but I thought this was a great explanation of trademark law and also what makes a REALTOR different than a real estate agent: I'm a big fan of what sets REALTORS apart for just licensed real estate agents - I believe the biggest distinction is in the ethical requirements of REALTORS. While I cannot guarantee that all REALTORS will always do the correct and ethical thing, at least I know there is a system in place to encourage compliance and … [Read more...]
Vacant Houses for Sale
January 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Dear Owners & Listing Agents of vacant relocation properties, short sales and foreclosures: Today I showed one house that was completely unshoveled and a 2nd that was partially shoveled but very icy. In both cases I and my clients almost fell a couple times each. This is not a good way to get people to buy your house. The house that hadn't been shoveled at all didn't even have any tracks - a sure sign it hadn't been looked at since before the Christmas snowstorm over a week ago. How many buyers & … [Read more...]
Bad MLS Photos
December 3, 2009 by 3 Comments
I wanted to show you just a sampling of the bad photos I see online each day but since they are the property of the agent that took them, I would need to call and ask them for permission. Could you imagine that call? Uh hi, my name is Aaron Dickinson and I am blogging about the aweful photos I see on the MLS every day and I'd like to feature one of your photos. Do you mind? I'm guessing that I'd be told to go do something to myself and promptly hung up on. My biggest pet peeve is when there are no interior … [Read more...]
Thanksgiving
November 25, 2009 by Leave a Comment
This is a time when many bloggers get overly sappy and talk about the history of Thanksgiving, or what Thanksgiving means to them, or their plans for getting together with family. I'm not much for the all that, so this will be quite brief. I've worked with some great buyers and sellers this year and the last few months saw many of my clients complete their real estate transactions so that they are now spending Thanksgiving in their new homes. While the housing market has been difficult, this year will be my … [Read more...]
