In the last couple weeks I have been searching our local MLS for a couple different clients and find myself frustrated by the lack of information provided. Too many agents today still seem to get away with putting up a photo or two and the barest minimum of information. This makes it terribly difficult to locate properties for my clients in the first place and discard those that are not viable in the second.Unfortunately there is no way to force agents to provide more than the bare minimum other than the … [Read more...]
Twin Cities Homes For Sale Inventory Hits 7 Year Low
November 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS has just announced October's housing numbers and surprises us with a whopper: In October 2011 there were fewer homes for sale than any October since 2004! The inventory of Twin Cities homes for sale has seen a progressive decline since its peak in 2007 and that decline I believe is likely to continue into 2012. Many homeowners today that want to sell cannot because of the market and thus are staying put and not putting their homes on the market. Further, with … [Read more...]
Minnesota Foreclosures in Q3 2011 Down 32% from Q3 2010
November 4, 2011 by 2 Comments
This just in from HousingLink:There were 4,935 foreclosures in Minnesota in Q3 of 2011, down 32% from Q3 2010. Q3 2011 marks four consecutive quarters with fewer than 6,000 statewide foreclosures. While this follows four quarters in which the statewide count exceeded that number, the Q3 2011 figure of 4,935 still far exceeds the 1,618 foreclosures averaged in 2005, the first year sheriff sale records were totaled for the state of Minnesota.Below is a chart from their very detailed report:While this in no way … [Read more...]
Twin Cities Real Estate Market Update – October 30, 2011
October 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Halloween marks the beginning of the significant seasonal slowdown in real estate activity that we see each year. As days get shorter and the weather gets colder, many home buyers and sellers settle in where they are for the winter. Buyer activity and homes for sale have both seen about a 10% decline in the last 3 months but the most significant drops for the whole year come in November and December.By the end of the year I am predicting that we'll be down to home inventory levels we haven't seen since 2005... … [Read more...]
Townhome & Condo Foreclosures Affect Other Unit Owners
October 3, 2011 by 2 Comments
The Star Tribune has a piece titled: Whistleblower: Homeowners pick up the tab. The Strib just scratches the surface of this issue.When someone buys into a townhome or condo development, they are becoming part owner of a nonprofit corporation that has ownership of common elements in the development and responsibilities for maintenance, insurance, utilities, etc for these common elements.When one of the shareholders (homeowners) stops paying their mortgage, they typically stop paying the association dues as well. … [Read more...]
3 Home Buyer Financing Lies
September 21, 2011 by 1 Comment
#1 - Buyers need 20% cash down to buy a home Did you know that some buyers can still buy a home with NO DOWN PAYMENT? The USDA Rural Development and Department of Veterans Affairs loan programs both offer 0% down payment options. In the case of the USDA, it is income and location restricted. For VA loans, active military and veterans are often eligible based on their time, type and years of service. There can also be some smaller local programs with very specific criteria that can get you close to no down … [Read more...]
The Home Buyer Financing Fallacy
September 6, 2011 by 2 Comments
For many months I've been hearing via almost every media channel out there that today's home buyers are struggling to get financing - that banks have too high of standards and that many people are not able to get a loan. Funny thing is, that's totally untrue.Buying a home is not only a big emotional step, but it is a huge financial step as well. You're taking on a fixed location and a fixed set of costs for many, many years to come. For most people, their home is their largest single asset. For quite a few … [Read more...]
MLS Misinformation
August 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment
One of the sayings that I retain from my years in the technology is one that is applicable in so many things every day: "garbage in, garbage out." In this circumstance, I speaking about some of the data that is input by real estate agents into our local MLS. It seems almost any time I'm searching for properties for a client, I come across one or more listings that either have inaccurate or incomplete information that affects the marketability of the property. Oftentimes my clients will read something and … [Read more...]
1700+ Short Sales Stuck Waiting for Bank Approval
August 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Short Sales By The Numbers: 5,000 We have just under 5000 short sales currently for sale in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. 1,700 In the Twin Cities, we now have more than 1,700 short sales that have received offers and are waiting for the seller's lender(s) to provide a response, 100's more than we had a year ago. By the way, this means that 1700+ buyers are tied up waiting for properties they may or may not ever get to buy. 35% Percent of short sale properties for sale that are currently stuck in Lender … [Read more...]
Hwy 610 in Maple Grove, Osseo & Brooklyn Park Opens August 19th!
August 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Message from MN/DOT: We're nearing the completion of the Hwy 610 extension project, and the roadway is currently scheduled to open to traffic on Aug. 19. Thank you for your patience during all of the construction work. We're holding a public ribbon cutting ceremony next week. We'd love for you to join us! Here are the details: Hwy 610 Ribbon Cutting Wednesday, Aug. 17 On the new freeway, below the Zachary Lane Bridge Event begins at 2 p.m. (program begins at approximately 2:30 p.m.) The … [Read more...]
