You are selling your house, and are super excited because you hear that it is a SELLERS’ MARKET. True, but don’t let that lull you into thinking that you can just slap a For Sale sign in the yard and wait for the money truck to pull in. Even in a hot market, there are homes don’t sell for many ... [Continue Reading]
Nordic Noir
At the end of July, The New York Times Book Review featured a guide to Nordic noir. Categorized by country (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden), I was familiar with a few of the authors, but happily there were many unfamiliar names as well. Keeping in mind that dark is the hallmark of the ... [Continue Reading]
August 2020 Sales Stats
Lots of real estate activity in Davidson County this summer! Pending sales, which is the number of properties on which contracts have been accepted in a given month, was 1,606 this month versus only 881 in August 2019. If those pending transactions actually close in the next 30-60 days, it will be ... [Continue Reading]
The Diary of a Bookseller and Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
So You Want To Own A Bookstore? In 2001, Shaun Bythell bought a second-hand bookshop in Wigtown, a tiny town located on a peninsula in southwest Scotland. A few years into the enterprise, a friend suggested that he keep a record of memorable customer interactions and behind the scenes activity. ... [Continue Reading]
Managing Bidding Wars
BUYER TIPS It is hard to imagine that in the midst of a global health crisis, economic uncertainty, and high unemployment we are experiencing bidding wars, but here we are. It certainly supports the old adage that all real estate is local. In Davidson County, the supply of homes for sale is low, ... [Continue Reading]
When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew… By Hendrika de Vries
A WWII Memoir When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew… is a moving memoir about the author’s childhood in Amsterdam, during and in the immediate aftermath of the war. Although the Germans invaded and occupied the Netherlands in 1940, little Hendrika, born in 1937, was too young to ... [Continue Reading]
July 2020 Sales Stats
In Davidson County, there were almost 25% fewer homes for sale in July than during the same period last year. Correspondingly, the median sales price for a single-family home increased 11.9% from this time last year to $355,000. Advantage seller. Real estate being local, local, local, these ... [Continue Reading]
Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner
For Fans of The Crown Anne Glenconner had an idyllic childhood. In her memoir, Lady in Waiting, she describes growing up at Holkham, the 27,000-acre estate of her father, the 5th Earl of Leicester. Her boon companions were the Princess Elizabeth and the Princess Margaret. There were Christmases ... [Continue Reading]
Ordeal by Jorn Lier Horst
Modern day Norway Taxi driver Jens Hummel has been missing for six months, and Chief Inspector William Wisting and his colleagues in the Larvik Criminal Investigation Unit are no closer to finding him. Just as they are about to give up, a promising lead materializes, which suggests a link to ... [Continue Reading]
The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
Post-war England In 1945, the tiny village of Chawton is coping with the after effects of WWII. Its most famous resident, Jane Austen, who lived in an estate cottage belonging to her brother Edward Knight, is a faint and increasingly diminishing presence. Recognizing the important of the ... [Continue Reading]