Insights
Occasional notes on property, value and judgment.
Observations from three decades of buying, building and selling exceptional residential real estate — sale strategy, renovation judgment, building health, what matters in a family home, and how to think clearly about the largest purchase most people ever make. New essays are published regularly. No market cheerleading, no listing commentary.
Sale Strategy
Now, or wait for spring
August 6, 2026
Readiness matters more than the calendar. Season determines the size of the audience; preparation determines what that audience concludes — and only one of those is under your control.
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Preparation
What to fix, and what to leave
August 14, 2026
You get one first impression, formed in the first ninety seconds by light, smell, and evidence of neglect — not by countertops. Fix what makes a buyer doubt the building; do not build what the next owner will demolish.
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Diligence
What is probably hiding
August 22, 2026
Almost everything that matters is behind something. Foundations, water at every transition, missing permits, structures on land you do not own, retaining walls — the expensive problems are the invisible ones.
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Valuation
What the market is actually telling you
July 14, 2026
At the top of the Northern California market, comparables thin out precisely where the decisions become largest. Market value here is a judgment about scarcity and buyer depth.
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Judgment
When the right answer is no
July 16, 2026
The hardest recommendation an advisor makes is against a property a client has already fallen for. Entitlement constraints do not soften because the light in the living room is beautiful.
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Entitlement
Reading a permit history
July 18, 2026
A property's permit file is its autobiography, and most of the interesting chapters are the ones that are missing.
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Development
What expansion potential is actually worth
July 20, 2026
"Room to expand" appears in listings the way "upside" appears in investment memoranda — frequently, and usually without underwriting.
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Urbane Wellness®
What makes your home healthy may not be visible
July 26, 2026
What makes a home genuinely healthy cannot be staged: the air, the water, the materials behind the finishes, and the light.
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Construction
Built well versus finished well
July 22, 2026
Staging and finishes are designed to be seen; structure, waterproofing, and building systems are designed never to be.
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A question from a client, answered.
August 2026
“Would you put the house on the market now, or wait until spring?”
Wait only if the house is not ready. Readiness matters more than the calendar. There are windows I avoid — mid-July through August, and Thanksgiving through the New Year — and windows I favor, particularly the two or three weeks after Labor Day. But no month rescues an unprepared house, and no month penalizes a prepared one enough to justify six months of carry.
— Gregory R. Malin
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