There has always been a gap between the prices that foreclosed houses are bringing on the market verses the prices that normal, owner-occupied homes bring. That gaps has served almost like a black hole in astronomy dragging everything down into that abyss. I wondered recently what that gap really
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05/31/2009
A recent article on the Business Week Web site was about the value of choosing to living in a particular place because of a lifestyle choice. That article was about the choice of living in an expensive upscale neighborhood, but that got me to thinking about what is happening to lifestyle living i
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05/27/2009
Today is memorial day and one of the best days of the year in Milford, Michigan - the quintessential small town America. Today at 11 AM I will be marching through town with hundreds of other Vets, as we celebrate those who served their country in the military. For many in Milford, it is their fav
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05/25/2009
I recently commented on a discussion post at one of the professional networking sites that I belong to. The Discussion was kicked off by a comment from another Realtor that basically expressed disappointment that there hasn't been more client enthusiasm for, nor demand driven by, the $8,000 tax b
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05/18/2009
The Detroit Free Press ran a story this morning about a young couple that had finally found their dream home after 2 years, afte seeing over 40 houses and after five failed offers -
http://tiny.cc/kPMd6. That article points out some of the issues that Realtors h
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05/17/2009
Michigan is one of only a hand-full of states that adopted a condo-hybrid zoning category called a site-condos, as a way to speed up the process for developers to bring new projects to market. The old, traditional zoning category called a platted subdivision served the needs of developers for man
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05/13/2009
I saw an article recently discussing the topic of the percentage of the U.S. population that own their own homes and the run-up of that figure that the author thinks contributed to the current real estate bust. The author makes the case that historically the U.S. has run at about 75-76% of the po
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05/11/2009
I had an appointment today to go look at a house that I might list and the owner called to say that the house is a mess right now and asked if I could look past that. Of course, I replied, I'll be looking through the eyes of a Realtor at the features of the house and how it compares to other simi
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05/09/2009
In the crazy foreclosure-dominated market that we are in right now here in Michigan I suppose I should not have been surprised by the call that I got today. Someone had been out looking at houses near one of my listings and called me to basically ask if my client would give the house away at a ri
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05/06/2009
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before Congress yesterday that he thinks the housing market may be at the bottom and that a turn-around in it and the economy in general could begin later this year; unless, of course it doesn't (which he said would be the case if the financial sec
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05/06/2009
