You know times are tough when real estate agents shop for road kill

Buy a condo, I’ll toss in a barbecue

Unkster found this on Craig’s list. The advertiser doesn’t exactly identify himself as a Greenwich real estate agent but …

Hunter’s with extra Venison, I would like to take it off your hands

Date: 2012-10-05, 10:10AM

If your a hunter and get extra Venison, I would like to take it off your hands.

(I AM NOT LOOKING TO SELL THIS TO ANYONE!!!)
I have a large family with plenty of in-law, and we all love Venison.
I’ll pick it up, and I can take care of my own butchering.

I’m looking for donations, but I can provide compensation $$$ too.
I know it is agaist the law to sell Venison for cash, but:
There’s no law about me giving you a “tip” or “Donation”, to your hard work.

Also interested in turkeys, ducks, and rabbits.

Thank you

UPDATE: And in a related matter, a Florida man has died just minutes after winning a roach-eating contest. No word whether he was also a real estate agent.

High-end blues

Elephant graveyard

I’ve got two such sales pending but I thought I’d look at our inventory of houses priced at $4.5 million and above to see what else is still out there. Turns out, there’s a lot. House moving companies should refocus their market efforts to the lower end of the market because most of these owners aren’t going anywhere soon.

We still have 163 houses priced above $4.5, a number essentially unchanged this year because as some shuffle off, new ones creep in. There are certainly large sales occurring: 53 so far this year, but that still leaves a three-year inventory and, as I said, there are plenty more houses ready to hit the market as soon as heir owners (a) run out of severance pay or (b) sense a glimmer of market recovery – my bet’s on “a”.

By quarter, 12 houses in this range sold from Jan-March, 24 in April-June and 17 July – September (0 in July, 12 in August, 5 in September). We’re ten days into October with no contract reported but that will change at least a little bit when my two hit the press and I’m sure there are others waiting for fully executed contracts before publicly acknowledging that a deal’s been made.

But 5 total contracts so far in this, the much-ballyhooed “Fall Market” should serve as a cold bucket of water to the face for all those home owners who’ve resisted lowering their price while waiting for buyers to return from their vacations, get the kids settled in school and head for the market, checkbook in hand. Well they came, they looked, they didn’t buy, and now sellers have until Halloween, maybe mid-November to enjoy this market before the holidays send potential buyers to other pursuits. My advice to stubborn sellers is, if you won’t cut your price, at least upgrade your insulation so that the coming winter’s heating bills won’t hurt so much.

Real estate news – meh.

6 Finney Knoll, that cluster of homes built next door to what is now Balducci’s in Riverside, sold for $1.775. When these were new in 2008 they sold for, I think, $2.1, $2.3 ish. Not now.

The lonely lives of British businessmen

Daily Telegraph: Businessmen buy speed dates with ministers.

When you turn to make-believe characters to save your campaign, you’re probably in trouble

All this delicious cafeteria food and poor Barry is stuck with a shit sandwich!

Our one-term president has been trying to defend his record of non-accomplishment by attacking old movie stars like Clint Eastwood and Mitt Romney’s dog, with limited success. Yesterday, unwilling to discuss the murder of his U.S. Ambassador, the continued dismal job market, unemployment, soaring national debt or really, anything of substance, his handlers trotted out Big Bird – “yeah, Big Bird – he likes our candidate!”

The people at Big Bird headquarters told him to stop using their creation for political purposes. Republicans and folks like me hope he keeps it up. What a yoyo.