Lessons from Counterinsurgency #4: Final Thoughts

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(Part 1, 2, and 3 of the Lessons from Counterinsurgency Series) Final Thoughts from Gen. Petraeus Finally, we always must strive to learn and adapt. The situation in Afghanistan has changed significantly in the past several years and it continues to evolve. This makes it incumbent on us to assess the situation continually and to … Read more

Real Estate Marketing in a Post-Middle Era: Services

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In part 1, I argued that we are living through a “post-middle” era as far as marketing is concerned, where consumers can be divided into either Thrift-minded, or Aspirational.  Then in part 2, I examined some ideas for how realtors might think about marketing homes for sale given that consumers are either driven by price … Read more

Some Notes & Observations About the New Site

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Just a quick note to say that the move to a self-hosted WordPress platform is ongoing.  It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, but haven’t really had the time to focus on it.  I still don’t really have the time, but… as much as I love WordPress.com’s hosted service, there were things … Read more

The Real Estate Story Awaits the Next Chapter

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Brian Boero of 1000watt recounts a dinner conversation and throws down some challenging questions and assertions: This particular debate centered on the following question: “Have we reached the end of the real estate story now that FSBOs and discounting have lost their menace?” As Brian puts it, there were two camps, comprised of him in … Read more

The Green Premium in NYC Rental Market Heads Towards Zero

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A really fun discussion on Twitter with Robin Greenbaum (@cobrokenation) led me to just do a very quick, very back-of-napkin, and likely very inaccurate comparison between two rental units.  As Robin pointed out, since comparisons are very difficult, depends on many factors, and the like, no matter what I come up with, this is likely … Read more

Real Estate Marketing in a Post-Middle Era: Property

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In part 1, I started to talk about marketing in a consumer environment when the middle is disappearing.  My basic hyopthesis is that the American consumer today operates in one of two modes: Thrift and Aspiration.  Thrift mode means a focus on price above all; Aspiration means a focus on luxury, lifestyle, or something more … Read more

Marketing In a Post-Middle Era

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Thanks to Brandie Young‘s wonderful post, I found David Amano’s thought-provoking post on “Marketing in a Post-Consumer Era”.  It’s worth reading in full.  Actually, they’re both worth reading in full. I couldn’t help immediately reacting, however, with skepticism. Perhaps it’s because the last time we were in a recession, we heard the same thing: conspicuous … Read more