Robert Stewart's (twincitiessouth) Blog

  This entry is more of a tribute than a diatribe.  When you preview and show houses, you get to know people, groups of people, and age groups.  Some of my favorite homes to show belong to the generation that remembers the depression, beat Hitler, and knows how to balance a checkbook.  These addr...

The NAR stastics are pretty grim - open houses have a less than 2% chance of selling a home.  I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the NAR devises an outcome and then conducts an affirmative study to prove its assertion. The problem with a statement like "Open houses sell less than X% of ...

Most agents tout the average number of days that a property takes to sell in a given area.  For better or worse, this is one of the most misused and misunderstood pieces of data in real estate.  I'd like to share my thoughts and practical experience.  Average days on market is a meaningless stati...

You can go after a buyer for a listing with a net, or you can use a spear.  I prefer spear. I've been asked more times than I can count to describe what I do to sell homes.  And each time, I happily spill the beans.  Interestingly, no one does what I do.  It's successful, so I'll put it out there...

I'd like to take this opportunity to share what I've seen and learned over the last several years in real estate.  Some of this will apply to homeowners, some to investment property owners, and still some to agents.  Enjoy. 1.  Do not use your home like a bank.  Of course the equity in your home ...

Imagine that you're a homebuyer.  You're out with your agent and you come across a gem of a home.  Not only is it superior to all the other homes on the market, it is categorically cheaper.  This home is $350,000 when the nearest competitor is $400,000.  What do you do? Oh, and this is the 2nd da...

1. Open up the draperies, pull up the shades, and let the sunshine in. 2. Create a positive mood. Turn on all lights, day or night, and install higher wattage light bulbs to show your home brightly. 3. Remove clutter from each room to visually enlarge them. 4. If you have a fireplace, highlight i...

  Q: What's the difference between a terrorist and an appraiser under HVCC? A: You can bargain with a terrorist.

The Stewart Home Team serves Dakota County in Minnesota, with special emphasis on Eagan, Mendota Heights, Highland Park, and Macalester/Groveland neighborhoods. You can find all of my listings here:  http://www.TwinCitiesSouth.com Click here to see all homes for sale in Eagan, MN Click here to se...

One of my favorite clients just asked me why a particular property in a very exclusive suburb (Edina) isn't selling. I visited the house and made my notes and here is the response I sent to my client:"The home on [this street] has one critical problem - and in real estate we call it "functional o...