It’s not often that real estate bloggers get to meet face-to-face. It’s even less common when they live over 1700 miles apart in different countries.

I had this rare opportunity yesterday morning. I was in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and was able to meet up with one of Saskatoon’s finest real estate agents and blogger extraordinaire Norm Fisher.

I flew from Phoenix to Saskatoon on Wednesday. All day Wednesday. We landed in Minneapolis for a short layover, only to be greeted with snow coming in sideways. Flakes as big as my head and so dense you could barely see the end of the boarding ramp. For a desert boy from Phoenix, it was quite a sight. But as I watched the snow accumulate, and the layover reached it’s fifth hour, I had visions of spending the weekend in the Minneapolis airport. This is not my idea of fun. What would have been fun would have been connecting with Teresa Boardman in the Twin Cities. Had I only known how much time I would wind up having in her lovely airport I would have arranged something. Perhaps next time.
The snow never let up, and we finally boarded. After one of the more terrifying take-offs I’ve ever experienced, we completed the journey to Saskatoon.

While I must admit that my first impression of Saskatoon could be summed up in one word — freaking cold (OK, that’s two words) — my first impression of Norm was quite the opposite. Norm’s a warm, bright, funny and articulate guy. I knew that already from reading his blog, but meeting in person just cemented those feelings. Norm’s been an agent for 15 years, and obviously knows his market. Apparently he knows random people throughout town as he greeted a couple by name in the hotel lobby — not too far from the sign that read, “WARNING: WATCH FOR FALLING ICE” (you won’t see that in Phoenix!). The folks running Point2 Agent, headquartered in Saskatoon, also know Norm and have well deserved respect for him.

Norm has an outstanding Point2 web site. And his blog has taken full advantage of the Point2 Agent blogging platform. But a blogging platform does not a blog make. The blogger makes the blog and Norm’s blog is chocked full of well written, fantastic local content. It serves as a one-stop shop for all things Saskatoon real estate. It’s a model for a localized content real estate web log.

Over breakfast, Norm and I chatted about all sorts of stuff. SEO, websites, blogs and our local market conditions. While Saskatoon is significantly smaller than the Phoenix metro area, their current market is strikingly similar to the Phoenix market of a couple years ago. Starved for inventory, rapidly escalating home appreciation, multiple offers over list, etc etc. Norm feels they are on the beginning of that curve, and like a good caring agent should, he’s concerned with what to tell clients and prospects about the future.

And of course none of us can predict the course of any market. I can predict one thing with certainty though. Any client of Norm is in great hands, no matter what the market conditions might be.

So treat yourself to a tour of Norm’s blog. You won’t be disappointed.

Thanks for the breakfast Norm! And next time we need to flip this thing around. We do winter HERE, and do summer THERE.