Quick Home Search

By searching, you agree to the EULA

Twin Cities Housing Affordability Hits Record High

December 8, 2008 by Leave a Comment
December 2008 Housing Affordability Index - Minneapolis/St. Paul

Just released from MAAR: The Housing Affordability Index (HAI)�shot up 19 points to 180 thanks to the recent healthy declines in mortgage interest rates and a continued softening in home prices; the HAI has not been this attractive since we began tracking data in 1990. What This Means to You The dramatic fall in interest rates in recent weeks coupled with the substantial sales price reductions (mostly found in lender-mediated sales, which are foreclosures and short sales) has lead to an affordability index that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreclosures and Short Sales, Info for Buyers, Info for Sellers, Market Stats, Mortgage Rates, Opinion Tagged With: , , , , ,

Feds: Don't Artificially Inflate Housing Market

December 5, 2008 by Leave a Comment

The National Association of REALTORS, of which I am a member, typically does a fair job with vision and lobbying.  Unfortunately they've recently steered off the tracks with their push to support a new housing stimulus bill.  These are the issues I have in particular: The plan to turn the $7500 15 year interest-free loan for first time buyers into a $7500 GIFT for ALL buyers. This plan would definitely spur housing sales, but does so by just indiscriminately throwing money at the problem. There are many areas … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community Issues, Foreclosures and Short Sales, Mortgage Rates, Opinion Tagged With: , ,

Poll: What Percentage of Listings on the MLS Are Foreclosures or Short Sales?

April 1, 2008 by 1 Comment

I'm looking to gauge the public's opinion on what percentage of active listings on our local MLS are either forecloures (bank owned) or short sales (bank approval needed).  Survey results will be share in the future. Please scroll down for the poll. [poll=2] … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreclosures and Short Sales, Opinion Tagged With: , ,

Star Tribune Prints the Wrong Story

March 15, 2008 by 2 Comments

I just read the most recent "the sky is falling" real estate article from the Star Tribune.  The Star Tribune profiles a family (the Floyds) that are losing to foreclosure their house in North Minneapolis that they've lived in for 23 years.  Today they owe 4X the amount they originally paid for the house!  Instead of this being an article about how important money management is and how crucial it is to live within your means, the newspaper made it into another example of all the bad things happening because of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community Issues, General, Opinion, Useless Ramblings Tagged With: , , , ,

Banks: Install Security Systems in Foreclosures

March 3, 2008 by 1 Comment

Recently I was looking at foreclosure homes under $80,000 with a buyer and we saw house after house with damage that appeared to be after the home was vacated by the previous owner.  The most common thing found missing was most/all of the copper plumbing.  In homes that had copper or other items stolen, the cost to repair the home will be substantial as these burglars did much more than take the copper, they practically destroyed the home in the process.  Further, when you make these homes unlivable then the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community Issues, Foreclosures and Short Sales, Info for Sellers, Opinion Tagged With: , ,

Short Sales & Foreclosures – Home Owner White Collar Crime?

February 15, 2008 by 2 Comments

In this difficult housing market, many recent home buyers are either behind in their payments or owe more money on the home than it is worth. For some homeowners behind in their payments, a job loss or other financial calamity accounts for their inability to pay.  For other homeowners, it was that they were sold on a loan with an adjustable rate and often were not properly educated on the implications of the rate adjustment. For people behind in their payments and for which there is simply no way they can make … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community Issues, General, Info for Sellers, Opinion Tagged With: , , , , ,

Eden Prairie Townhome Development: 65% Foreclosed in 2007

January 20, 2008 by 1 Comment

I recently came across a small townhome development in Eden Prairie that had multiple units for sale on the MLS, all of which were in the Redemption Period of Foreclosure.  After showing it to my client, a neighbor next door who was renting his unit came out and asked me what I knew about what was going on with the units in there. Based off of discussions with him and research I did through Hennepin County and the MLS, I've discovered that in 2007, 26 of the 40 units in the development had gone through a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community Issues, Info for Buyers, Info for Sellers, Market Stats, Opinion Tagged With: , ,

Disclaimer

TwinCitiesRealEstateBlog.com is not a Multiple Listing Service MLS, nor does it offer MLS access.
This website is a service of Aaron Dickinson of Edina Realty, a broker Participant of the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc.