Minnesota First Time Home Buyers » Sellers

December 2011 Twin Cities Housing Market Update

Steve Howe — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:38:21 +0000

Another month’s information on the Housing Market in Minnesota, made by the MPLS Association of Realtors. Lots of good data in this vide below, as usual.

Some highlights that both sellers and first time home buyers should note are:

Many more “Pending Sales” in November than the past few years. This combined with a low number of homes for sale means the tables are turning towards the sellers a little bit. However home prices are still declining somewhat consistently, so buyers are still getting a good deal on properties.

This combined, with some more positive national economic news on jobs, and we may be finally starting to see the turnaround in the MN Housing Market.

Check out the full video for all the info!

[contact-form-7]

October 2011 Twin Cities Housing Market Update

Steve Howe — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:16:33 +0000

Want to know what’s going on in the Housing Market here in MN? Check out this month’s video put together by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.

Some of the data for this month includes a lower numbers of homes on the MLS for sale, lower home prices than last year, and also a decrease in the monthly supply of housing inventory. Kind of a mixed bag of news for buyers and sellers, but overall there seems to be some positive signs that we are leveling off from the “free-fall” of 2008, 2009, and 2010.

If you’re buying your first home, it’s a good nugget to know that Mortgage Interest Rates are at their lowest point in history. So by locking in a super-duper low rate right now, you will literally be saving hundreds or thousands of dollars a year in interest. This coupled with the low home prices still makes the end of 2011 and beginning of 2010 a great time to be a first time home-buyer in MN.

Click “Play” below to watch the short video for yourself!

[contact-form-7]

Is it still a “Buyer’s Market”?

Steve Howe — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:38:40 +0000

While some people have been calling this the “best buyer’s market we’ve ever seen” some new housing data in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area may suggest the tables are starting to turn in favor of the seller.

A “buyer’s market” typically means there are more properties available for sale than willing buyers to purchase them. This usually results in lower prices, longer market time, and better deals for buyers. And while we’ve been in a very strong buyer’s market since late 2007 here in MN, the number of homes for sale is steadily declining right now, even with sustained high levels or short sales and foreclosures.

This Star Tribune Article from mid-October 2011 discusses some of the frustrations that buyers have been experiencing while trying to find the right home.

While the level of housing inventory is, in fact, declining, I would still argue that this is a great time to buy a home–especially if it is your first property. Interest rates are at records lows in the U.S., and prices are below their historical averages.

Not sure what to think?? Talk to an experienced and knowledgeable Real Estate Agent and ask tons of questions about your individual situation. You may find that you can buy for less than you currently pay in rent right now!

[contact-form-7]

Twin Cities Housing Market Info – September 2011

Steve Howe — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:59:38 +0000

We may be getting back to some regular housing market activity here in Minneapolis and St Paul–at least when it concerns the number of buyers and seller active in the market.

This month’s “Skinny” video, made by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors has lots of good info on where the market has been, where it’s at, and maybe where it’s headed. Home prices are still falling around 10% per year, which isn’t good for regular sellers. But there’s a couple of hidden numbers in this data that not a lot of people are talking about.

Click play below to watch the video.

The first thing is that retail (or regular) sellers are having better luck getting higher values for their properties. In other words, the “retail market” isn’t falling in price as much as the “foreclosure market” is.

The second thing that NO ONE is talking about is fix-n-flips.

These are properties that investors are buying, fixing up, and re-selling a few months later to owner-occupied buyers. In most cases these investors are buying a foreclosure or short sale at a discount, and investing thousands of dollars into the home’s renovation. Then, they put the home back on the market and sell it at a higher price all fixed up.

When this happens, there are actually 2 sales that take place. Let’s pretend the home was originally bought for $50,000 by the investor, and they invested several thousands in it’s repair. Then, it sells 6 months later for $150,000 as a completely renovated home. Both of these sales factor into market data for Average or Median Sale Price. And in this case, they would make an average of $100,000 Sale Price–which on the surface looks bad. But in reality what happened was a house was renovated and sold to a new home-owner for $150,000, which should be the only sale that counts towards market data.

Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a way to factor these types of situations into market data. So the numbers may continue to look bad at face value for a while, but the silver lining is that neighborhoods and communities are getting improved and revitalized when this happens, and in the end, that’s the most important aspect of the Housing Market.

[contact-form-7]

Twin Cities Housing Market, August 2011

Steve Howe — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:43:05 +0000

Once again, lots of good data from this video produced by the MPLS Area Association of Realtors regarding the greater twin cities area housing market.

In summary, the real estate market in Minnesota is still very favorable for first time home-buyers since interest rates are holding low and affordability is still very high. However active inventory in the metro is not as high as it has been in recent years, meaning there are less homes to choose from on the market.

Overall, some positive signs that the market is not slipping as fast as some people perceive, but the jobs market and greater economy needs to keep improving in order for the housing market to fully recover.

Click “play” below to see all the info!

[contact-form-7]

July 2011 Twin Cities Housing Market Update

Steve Howe — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 17:43:25 +0000

This video is compiled by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.

Lots of good info about where the Twin Cities real estate market is right now, and maybe where it’s heading in the near future!

Highlights include: sustained low interest rates for mortgages; increase in “pending sales” from last year; decreased number of homes available to buyers.

All in all, this is still a fantastic time to get into the housing market as a first time homebuyer–we may be only a year or two away from a full on recovery, and if you wait too long, you’ll be paying more than you could have.

Watch the full video below

[contact-form-7]

Housing Numbers And Graphs

Steve Howe — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 06:16:11 +0000

If you like to look at colorful graphs and analyze data, then check out this website using Case Shiller data. It covers lots of different housing market numbers, including housing prices over the past 20+ years, percentage of decline since the housing bubble burst, and even some rental and income stats.

Remember, for buyers most of this news is GOOD! Lower prices mean more affordability if you’re in a good financial situation individually to buy your first house.

Look past the headlines and realize that if you’re thinking about purchasing a property this may be one of the best times to do so in the history of the country’s real estate market.

[contact-form-7]

Twin Cities Housing Market Update – December 2010

Steve Howe — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 21:29:55 +0000

Here’s the latest video made by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors that summarizes the MN Housing Market for the last month.

Most of the data compares November 2010 against November 2009 levels. But they do also offer some historical perspective too, giving the 2008 and 2007 numbers of some categories. This is a good thing, so that you can really see the big picture of where things stand for the Twin Cities Real Estate Market.

Note that for First Time Home-buyers, most of this news is positive: low prices, high number of properties for sale, and not a lot of competition all mean good things for those of you who are seeking their first property.

Click “play” to watch the whole video. But don’t worry, it’s only a couple minutes long!

[contact-form-7]

Hennepin and Ramsey County Housing Numbers

Steve Howe — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:04:19 +0000

If you like analyzing numbers, you’re gonna love this post!!

I picked up a copy of the Regional MLS board’s 3rd Quarter Economic and Market Watch Report and wanted to share some interesting stats with you if you’re thinking about making the jump into home-ownership.

Obviously the Twin Cities metro area expands well past just these two counties, but since a large number of homes are located in Hennepin and Ramsey County, I felt this would be sufficient to sum up what’s going on in the housing market. Again, these are just numbers comparing the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2010. So that includes April, May and June in the 2nd Quarter and July, August and September in the 3rd Quarter. Keep in mind the fact that the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credits that expired in April of 2010 had a pretty significant effect on property sales in MN, causing more buyers to purchase sooner in 2010 than they probably would have under normal circumstances.

Both counties are also rated as a “2″ on a 1-5 point scale with 1 being a very strong buyer’s market, 2 being a moderate buyer’s market, 3 being a neutral market, 4 being a moderate seller’s market, and 5 being a very strong seller’s market. So we are still in a decent buyer’s market which means that buyers have more purchasing and negotiating power than sellers. (If you’re a buyer, you WANT there to be a buyer’s market! It means you’re getting the better end of the deal.)

Hennepin County – 2010

Average Price: 2nd Qt-$242,400 | 3rd Qt-$265,700

Homes on the Market: 2nd Qt-10,118 | 3rd Qt-9,804

Homes Sold: 2nd Qt-4,852 | 3rd Qt-3124

Average Days on Market: 2nd Qt-70 | 3rd Qt-76

Ramsey County – 2010

Average Price: 2nd Qt-$178,200 | 3rd Qt-$173,400

Homes on the Market: 2nd Qt-3,494 | 3rd Qt-3,408

Homes Sold: 2nd Qt-1,760 | 3rd Qt-1,105

Average Days on Market: 2nd Qt-70 | 3rd Qt-81

As you can see in the numbers, sales were definitely down in the 3rd Quarter of 2010, caused by a few factors such as the tax credit hangover and other weak economic news around the region. We’re certainly not out of the woods yet as a housing market, but if you’re a first time buyer in Minnesota you can be sure that you’re still going to be getting a very good deal on your home purchase!

[contact-form-7]

2 Year Foreclosure Moratorium?

Steve Howe — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:23:44 +0000

Today, the MN House will vote on a bill which may allow homeowners getting foreclosed on a little breathing room.

The bill HF2604 would allow homeowners to stay in their homes if they continue to paying their mortgage or at least 41% of their income to the lender. It would also allow renters of foreclosed properties to stay in the home as long as they are paying fair market rent or 41% of their income as well, to the foreclosing lender.

With foreclosure rates still steady, and a lot of ARM loans yet to adjust in the coming years, it’s no wonder there is an outcry from some people to cause a stay of foreclosures in Minnesota. There are some positives for the proposed moratorium, but I am in the camp that truly believes the “market adjustment” is somewhat of a necessary evil.

Some people are not able to make their payments to the bank because of a job loss, death in the family, or divorce situation. These are all very unfortunate circumstances in a person’s life, but part of owning a home is taking the risk that these things might happen and that you may not be able to make your payments.

With a society raised on credit and loans, it’s no wonder we always dream of buying bigger and better things even if we can’t afford it. To be honest, there’s something true about the old saying “if you don’t have the money in your bank account, then you can’t afford it”.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a two-way street. Both homebuyers and mortgage companies screwed up by allowing borrowers to take out too much money on houses they couldn’t truly afford, but this is not about blame.

I’m not here to give anyone a lecture about homeownership or choose a political angle on this issue, but amongst the dark cloud of foreclosures remember that there is a silver lining.

A lot of First Time Home Buyers are able to purchase homes in areas they would not have been able to a few years ago due to the lower prices on these homes. Contractors are able to rehab these properties and jobs are created by the work needed on these distressed properties. And probably the biggest positive out of all this is that (for this generation at least) we are learning our lesson about home prices and mortgage programs. I don’t think we’ll be making the same mistakes we made 5-10 years ago after this market correction is done.

[contact-form-7]

Minnesota First Time Home Buyers » Sellers

December 2011 Twin Cities Housing Market Update

Related Posts

October 2011 Twin Cities Housing Market Update

Related Posts

Is it still a “Buyer’s Market”?

Related Posts

Twin Cities Housing Market Info – September 2011

Related Posts

Twin Cities Housing Market, August 2011

Related Posts

July 2011 Twin Cities Housing Market Update

Related Posts

Housing Numbers And Graphs

Related Posts

Twin Cities Housing Market Update – December 2010

Related Posts

Hennepin and Ramsey County Housing Numbers

Related Posts

2 Year Foreclosure Moratorium?

Related Posts