Rising -- and Falling -- Real Estate Bar

Want to Stand Out? Drop > 10%

Want some anecdotal evidence about housing market conditions these days in the Twin Cities?

Higher Bar. Edina Realty, the Twin Cities' largest broker, requires price reductions of 10% or more to qualify for intra-company email distribution (I believe the policy actually dates back to this Summer).

Previously, the requirement was 5%.

The logic?

Five percent drops are now run of the mill; to get Buyers' attention (and qualify for email distribution), the number's got to really be eye-catching (no such threshold exists for circulating price drops within a branch office).

Lower Bar. Meanwhile, the bar for hosting Exceptional Properties meetings in the Southwest Region (the geographic area including my office, City Lakes) continues to drop.

Three years ago, the floor was at least $1 million -- and most homes hosting the meeting were well above that.

Tomorrow's meeting is at a home listed for $589k.

P.S.: many Realtors, including yours truly, have custom email distribution lists to market their listings. The trick is knowing the difference between judicious use of such lists -- and spam.