Will You Be Priced to Sell?

Posted on by Joan Byrnes Leave a comment

It has long been a motto of real estate, and the saying goes, “location, location, location.” It’s what sells a property, they say. But recent times have brought to light that the real deciding factor on how fast, or even if, your home sells all comes down to price.

It’s not that buyers are attracted by shiny, new things, but in a sense they are. When a home is newly listed it gathers a lot of interest. The listing agent may send out emails, webcasts, and virtual tours. They launch their entire marketing program. Even the MLS indicates the home as “newly listed.” After a few weeks, however, if no momentum has been built, the home will then face a must steeper challenge on the road to selling. Read more

Investing is a Confidence Game

Posted on by Karl Schroeder Leave a comment

Investing is a confidence game. Without a certain expectation of return, no one will defer current consumption and invest for future consumption. Currently, we are being overwhelmed by a lack of confidence in that return. People have been fed a fairly steady diet of bad news about nearly everything and never given the whole story in such a way as to increase that expectation of return. It was Will Rogers who quipped “I’ve stopped worrying about the return on my money. Now I just worry about the return of my money.” We all have a piece of Will Rogers in us these days. But, the big question is whether that attitude is warranted and will it continue? Read more

Water Features Enhance Home Appeal

Posted on by Joan Byrnes Leave a comment

With the summer months pushing temperatures over 100 degrees in some areas and humidity leaving drips of perspiration on people’s brows, it might be time to consider a water feature to help enhance your home’s appeal.

I’m writing this from the desert and everywhere you look, flowing, glistening, and pleasant-sounding water pours from fountains on commercial and home properties. It’s alluring, welcoming, and calming. When it comes to selling your home, a water fountain can help to create a peaceful and enjoyable experience. It can also help to drown out noisy children playing nearby. Read more

Think Long-Term Investment

Posted on by Karl Schroeder Leave a comment

We have been getting a little short-term focused in recent missives. We apologize for this short-coming. We really need to think and act long-term all of the time. What does it mean to think and act long-term? Well, not everyone has the same idea about that, but here is ours: don’t worry about the short-term outlook, worry about meeting long-term goals. No one is going to meet their long-term goals by sitting in cash, especially at 0.10% yields. Very few people are going to meet their long-term goals by buying bonds with coupons of 3%, especially when you have to pay a premium to get them. The math just doesn’t work that way. The only way for anyone with a long-term return requirement of 6% or 7% is going to meet that goal is by owning stocks, real estate and commodities most of the time. Read more