Exclusive View - "There's a New Blog in Town"

Hello, my name is Rich Brandel, and I am a houseoholic.   

And so I'm here blogging "Exclusive View" to share information about... residential real estate.  I have questions and opinions, you have questions and opinions, so here we go: 

What's happening in our local market? Just how many listings have been available for purchase? What are buyer's buying? Let's take a closer look. 

What is the difference between listings "on the market" versus listings "in the market"? What are the implications for Buyers? For Sellers?  

How about forclosures and short sales? Just how frequently are these occuring around here? How does the purchase process differ from traditional transactions?

What about market condition reports referencing median home prices? Do you follow the Case-Shiller home price indices? Have you pondered thru Zillow estimated home values?  How much is confusing? Worrisome? Worth the time to even consider? 

Where can you find and plug into some really good real estate bloggers?

Is there anything interesting coming out from NAR (the National Association of Realtors) or IAR (the Illinois Association of Realtors)? What are their lobbyists up to?  Sometimes I like to challenge the common thought out there (or lack of thought) about real estate and the practices of traditional firms and agents.   

So looking forward, we'll get into all of this and more. I have my ear to the ground, a broker's license in my pocket, and some interesting ideas in my head.  I'd like to share all of these with you.  Stay tuned...

Exclusively yours, Rich Brandel