Blog Archives

Disrupting real estate: What’s Pope Francis got to do with it?

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Bill Wendel — No Comments ↓

Calls to disrupt residential real estate have echoed inside and outside the industry the past year, but no change will come close to the impact of climate change. The Pope’s encyclical — On Care for our Common Home — begins with the environment but…

Posted in Consumer protection, Disrupt Real Estate, Housing Justice, Impact Rebates, Luxury homes, Mlllennials, Pope's Encyclical, RE2020, RECALL: Real Estate Consumer Alliance, Spiritual Home

Bidding War Drone: In-House Intelligence Report raises questions

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Bill Wendel — No Comments ↓

So far, no one has been injured by a real estate drone taking photos of their listings or homes for sale, but we’re glad the FAA is implementing regulations to prevent that in the future. Contrast that to bidding wars.…

Posted in Bidding wars, Bubble map, Buyer agent, Consumer protection, Defensive Homebuying, Designated Agency, Dual Agency Detective, Investigative Reporting, Luxury homes, RECALL: Real Estate Consumer Alliance

Right-sizing your American Dream: An extra bedroom or 1/3rd off the price?

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Bill Wendel — No Comments ↓

On Saturday, one of the Real Estate Cafe’s new clients, a five-person household (husband, wife and three kids under 11) seriously considered making an offer on a two-bedroom condo in Cambridge. When I shared this experience with my adult daughter…

Posted in Buyer agent, Defensive Homebuying, Luxury buyer agent, Luxury homes, Price reductions, Proactive househunting, Savings & Rebates

Seasonality: Insider’s guide to cool deals in HOT neighborhoods

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Bill Wendel — No Comments ↓

From comments thus far, looks like Boston.com readers have missed the significance of seasonality in a blog post today about buying in HOT neighborhoods. The featured buyer timed the housing market a year before the last boom / bust cycle…

Posted in DIY Homebuyers, Expired listings, Fee-for-service, FSBO: For Sale By Owner, Luxury homes, Million Dollar Markdowns, Price reductions, Savings & Rebates, Seasonality, Timing the market

Will stock market losses & Zillow forecast wipe out bidding wars?

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Bill Wendel — No Comments ↓

Six weeks of stock market gains wiped out in two days? What does that do to your home buying decision-making process? Will that sell-off end the “year of the over-ask offer” in the housing market, or send more paperwealth into…

Posted in Bidding wars, Bubble Hour, Buyer agent, Consumer protection, Defensive Homebuying, Housing bubble, Housing forecasts, Luxury homes, Million Dollar Markdowns, Talking offer, Timing the market

Mixed signals: Million dollar teardowns back but luxury listings up?

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Bill Wendel — No Comments ↓

Trying to make sense of the luxury housing market in Massachusetts? So are we. Luxury condo towers are being reborn in downtown Boston, and million dollar teardowns — not seen since the Dot.com bubble created millions in paper wealth —…

Posted in Bidding wars, Bubble Hour, Buyer agent, Housing bubble, Luxury buyer agent, Luxury homes, Million Dollar Markdowns, Real Estate Bubble, Timing the market

What’s really happening with luxury single-family homes across Massachusetts?

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Bill Wendel — No Comments ↓

When it comes to real estate stats (or should I say spin?), Lily Tomlin was right: “No matter how cynical you become, it’s never enough to keep up.” Blog posts and press releases last week from Redfin, Mass. Association of…

Posted in Bidding wars, Bubble Hour, Buyer agent, Defensive Homebuying, Dual Agency Detective, Luxury buyer agent, Luxury homes, Million Dollar Markdowns, Price reductions, Sweetest Deals

Luxury homes: Do dueling governor mansions point to “Mansion Cliff”?

Posted on December 20, 2012 by admin — No Comments ↓

Same state, opposing parties. Two “governor mansions” for sale, one former governor, one current. One expired after 416 days, the other canceled after 268 days. Now, like running for reelection, both are relisted and SURPRISINGLY, both are asking less than their…

Posted in Buyer agent, Luxury buyer agent, Luxury homes, Mansion Cliff, Million Dollar Markdowns, Price reductions, Seasonality, Timing the market

Following #My2K? Why not turn Mansion Cliff into #My$200K (or more)!

Posted on November 29, 2012 by admin — No Comments ↓

Black Friday and CyberMonday have come and gone, but a blog post before Thanksgiving asking why there isn’t a real estate equivalent got us thinking and analyzing data. Then when President Obama launched the #My2k campaign to raise awareness about…

Posted in Change Agents, commission rebate, Commission Reform, Fee-for-service, In the News, Luxury homes, M$M, Market trends, Million Dollar Markdowns, Price reductions, Savings & Rebates, Seasonality, Sweetest Deals, Timing the market

DIY Homebuyers, November is “Let’s make a deal month”

Posted on October 30, 2012 by admin — No Comments ↓

November, as tired listing agents may admit, is generally a very good month for buyers to negotiate discounts on properties before listing contracts expire and sellers calculate the cost of carrying an unsold home through the winter. Original research conducted…

Posted in Crowdfunding, DIY Homebuyers, Extreme Househunting, Fee-for-service, Luxury homes, Million Dollar Markdowns, Price reductions, Savings & Rebates, Seasonality, Timing the market