Minnesota Real Estate Blog
by Ryan O'Neill, Co-Host of The Minnesota Real Estate Talk Show
Choose to win in this market
Choosing failure. Everyone is tired of the bad news in our industry and understanding the regulatory and technical happenings in our industry is my job. And I spend quite a bit of time on it. But it is NOT my client's job. So rather than talking about Ben Bernanke or Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or any of that uninteresting blather, what I want to discuss with you is an old cliche that came to mind: Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail. First, let's remember that a cliche became a cliche because its meaning was so powerful that it became overused and lost its original meaning. Huge lessons can be gleaned from a cliche. What are a few common cliches? 1. Don't give up your day job. 2. "Penny wise and pound foolish" 3. Don't bite off more than you can chew. 4. "A bull in a china shop" 5. Don't trip over dollars to pick up pennies. 6. Make hay while the sun shines. 7. I felt bad that I had no shoes until I met a man with no feet. 8. "Walk a mile in their shoes" We've all heard the cliche, "Failing to Plan is planning to fail." Right? That's what I want to talk about today. Our nation and industry is crippled by fear. People are hearing and seeing some terrible things happen all around them and they are worrying themselves into paralysis. Emotion is a very powerful force and it makes us act in some very strange ways. Here's another cliche - The shoemaker's children have holes in their shoes. Why? Because the shoemaker was busy fixing everyone else's shoes. What this cliche means to me is that we all lack the ability to focus objectively on our own situation because we are distracted by our emotions. A husband and wife and their children have growing frustration in their life because "the walls are closing in around them" (another cliche). They are parking in the driveway because their garage is filled with stuff that won't fit in the house anymore. They would love nothing more than to move to a home with more space, but they hear the news, they have a bit of financial stress so they decide to ignore their need and their frustration and try to put it out of their mind. What does that do to their daily life? How does that affect the way they treat their kids? Are they less likely to entertain friends and family? What does that do to their overall quality of life? This is an example of failing to plan being a plan to fail. Unless they find a genie in a bottle and wish to be in a new home, it is going to take some time, some advice and some planning. 1. What can we sell our home for? 2. What needs to be done to get the home ready to sell? 3. How much will that cost? 4. Should we finish the basement, replace the windows, carpet, furnace, roof, countertops or paint before listing? 5. Will I get my money out of those projects? 6. Who can we contact to do that? 7. When should we list to get the best sale price? 8. How much space do we need for our next home? 9. What will that cost? 10. How much can we afford? 11. What can be done to out income, savings and credit to have the best options available to us? 12. How do we do that? 13. How long will it take? 14. What are rates doing? 15. Will we be able to get financing when we are ready to go? These are just 15 questions I rattled off the top of my head as fast as I could type. There are a thousand more that people like us think about every single day. Why would anyone try to do it themselves? To save a buck? Studies show how costly a mistake that can be in the long run. Another cliche: don't trip over dollars to pick up pennies. Think of the garage door project that you thought you could do yourself. The box said it would take an afternoon. But after a weekend of mis-drilled holes and crossed wires, you are still parking in the driveway and wishing you had help. You go and hire someone who finished it in an hour for $50 and think of the time you wasted. Another cliche - "You get what you pay for." Get some advice and have some help chunking down your goal into small, bite sized pieces and a timeline to get there. Anything you want can be yours. Don't choose failure. Choose to win. By Ronny Loew - Ronny is the Next Home Specialist with MN Home Loan Partners. Whether you are moving up, downsizing, relocating or keeping your home as an investment and buying a new primary residence, Ronny has specific strategies to make it easy and a financial win. He can be reached at 952-808-2815 or rloew@houseloan.com
Prior Lake homes
Prior Lake, MN Real Estate Monthly Market Update - July, 2008 Today, we head a bit south of the Twin Cities metro area to the great city of Prior Lake. Prior Lake not only has some outstanding homes, townhomes, and condos, but a convenient location as well. And by the way, if you love boating, Prior Lake is truly a great choice for you. Let's take a look to see what is happening with the real estate numbers in Prior Lake. First comparing the month of July in 2007 to the month of July in 2008, there was a drop in new listings put on the MLS by 23% this July. 87 properties went active onto the market. 36 properties closed in July of 2008, down from 52 in July of 2007. The average sales price rose 12.2%, going from $313,952 to $352,189. The percent of list price received at the time of sale did in fact drop by 2.6%, going from 95.1% to 92.6%. Average days on market is up 4.3%, going from 177 to 184 days. The single family home inventory level in Prior Lake was at 281 this past July, compared to 271 in July of 2007. The townhome and condo inventory level dropped 4.2%, going from 142 to 136 active listings. Now looking at January through July of 2007 compared to January through July of 2008, there have been 18.9% less properties put on the MLS this year. 727 listings have gone active here in 2008. Closed sales unfortunately are also down 18.5%, going from 232 last year to 189 this year. The average sales price however has increased by 7.3%. In 2007, the average sales price in Prior Lake was $311,755. Now in 2008, it is $334,470. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale did in fact drop from 95.7% to 91.5%. Lastly, the average days on market increased, moving from 164 to 182 days. In conclusion, Prior Lake, like many parts of the Twin Cities, has seen a sizable decrease in new listings put onto MLS this year. In addition, closed sales are down as well. However, the increase in average sales price is good news indeed. A 7.3% increase, in spite of all of the economic factors that may be pushing values down nationwide, is definitely reason to celebrate for those who live and own a property in Prior Lake.
Lakeville real estate
Lakeville, MN Real Estate Monthly Market Update - July, 2008Having lived in Lakeville for a few years, I can tell you that this suburb is an all around great place to call home. Lakeville has a number of wonderful homes, townhomes, neighborhoods...you name it! It truly is a great spot to live and work. Our broker, RE/MAX Advantage Plus has one of its locations in Lakeville. Eric Malmberg, the owner of RE/MAX Advantage Plus, also has offices in Savage, Shakopee, and Prescott, Wisconsin. Today, let's take a look at the city of Lakeville, and what sort of activity is taking place in regards to its real estate market. First, let's look at the month of July in 2008 compared to the month of July in 2007. New listings put on the MLS in Lakeville are down 16.1%, with 141 properties put onto the market this past July. Closed sales are down by 20.9%, with 68 properties closing in July of 2008. The average sales price stayed fairly level, dropping from $296,744 to $294,808. Consistent with the rest of the Twin Cities real estate market, average days on market increased from 102 to 137 days. The overall inventory level for single family homes in Lakeville dropped 2.1%, going from 376 to 368 active listings. The townhome and condo inventory level in Lakeville dropped 15.2%, going from 158 to 134 active listings. When comparing January through July of 2007 to January through July of 2008, Lakeville has seen a sizable drop in new MLS listings. 17.2% less properties have been put on the market this year, a total of 1,063 new listings. Closed sales unfortunately are down by 19%, with 384 properties closing here in 2008. The average sales price has declined by 7.4%, going from $310,285 to $287,469. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale dropped from 95.7% to 93.5%. Average days on market is up only 5.4%, from 136 to 143 days. In conclusion, Lakeville has seen a drop in average sales price similar to many other suburbs here in the Twin Cities, however not nearly as steep of a decline as some. The drop in new listings is encouraging news, as well as the only modest increase in average days on market. With it's convenient location right near 35, as well as its outstanding school districts, I believe Lakeville will continue to see strong demand by real estate buyers over time.
St Paul real estate
St Paul, MN Real Estate Monthly Market Update - July, 2008Let's talk real estate activity numbers for our great state capitol here today, St Paul. We have a few of our agents on our team that live in St. Paul, and I must say, they love it! Adam Maas has been a top agent on our team since 2004, and he knows all the various neighborhoods in St Paul extremely well. Jen McKinnon as well. She is newer to the team, but a top, top St Paul real estate agent. In St Paul there are so many wonderful neighborhoods, a great downtown area...there are really just a number of outstanding features to this city. Let's first take a look at July of 2007 compared to the month of July in 2008. For the entire city of St Paul, new listings put on the MLS were down by 13.4%, with 599 properties going onto the market. Closed sales rose by 5.3%, with 300 listings closing in July of 2008. The average sales price in July took a substantial dive, from $248,102 to $180,871. This is a 27.1% year over year drop. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale dropped by 2.6%, going from 93.7% to 91.3%. Average days on market is up 14.8%, from 116 to 133 days. The overall active inventory level for single family homes in St Paul is down 11.8%, from 1,946 to 1,716 listings. The townhome and condo inventory level is down 25.8%, with 459 properties on the market in July of 2008. Now when we take a look at January through July of 2007 compared to January of July in 2008, there has been a 9.8% drop in new listings put onto the MLS in St Paul. Closed sales are only down 2%, with 1,537 properties closing here in 2008. The average sales price unfortunately is down 21.7% from $234,749 to $183,823. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale is down 5.6%, from 94.9% to 89.5%. Average days on market until sale is up from 123 to 141 days, an increase of 14.6%. In conclusion, the year to date closing numbers are encouraging. With only a 2% year over year drop, there are definitely a nice number of closings taking place. However, the sharp decrease in average sales price is not good news. With over a 20% year over year drop, this is one of the largest declines we have seen for any parts of the Twin Cities.
Plymouth, MN real estate
Plymouth, MN Real Estate Monthly Market Update - July, 2008Plymouth is known here in the Twin Cities real estate marketplace as a community with a number of outstanding homes and neighborhoods. In today's blog entry, let's look at a market snapshot for this great city. Let's first take a look at July of 2007 compared to the month of July in 2008. New listings put onto the MLS stayed very steady, with 164 properties being put on the market this past July, an increase of 0.6%. Closed sales however dropped by 20.2%, with 75 properties closing this past July. The average sales price did drop of course, but not to the level we have seen in many of the other suburbs here in the Twin Cities. The average sales price this past July was $327,153, a drop of 4.6% compared to July of 2007. Average days on market did increase from 91 to 110 days, an increase of 21.1%. The overall inventory level for single family homes in Plymouth rose slightly from 285 to 290 properties. The townhome and condo market saw an active MLS inventory level drop of 7.9%, with 267 properties on the market this past July. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale decreased by 0.7%, going from 96.2% to 95.6%. Now when we take a look at January through July of 2007 compared to January of July in 2008, there has been an 8.2% drop in new listings put on MLS this year in Plymouth. There have been 1,185 new listings put on the market this year. Closed sales are down 16.9%, with 422 properties closing here in 2008. The average sales price in Plymouth has stayed very steady at $323,007. This is only a 0.2% drop over last year. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale dropped by 2.2%, going from 95.6% to 93.5%. Average days on market has increased 20% in Plymouth, going from 121 to 145 days. In conclusion, these numbers are really some positive news for homeowners in Plymouth. Compared to many of the various suburbs, there has been very little year over year drop in the average sales price. Over the past few months, as we have taken a look at a number of communities from around the Twin Cities, we have seen some staggering year over year price drops. Plymouth however, with its great location, has not seen this take place.
Eagan, MN real estate
Eagan, Minnesota Real Estate Market Monthly Update - July, 2008 The new real estate sales numbers through the end of July for the Twin Cities and all of our various suburbs are out! In today's blog entry, we wanted to take a look at the great city of Eagan, Minnesota. Eagan is located southeast of downtown Minneapolis. It is very close to 35E, 494 and Cedar Ave, with close proximity to both St. Paul and Minneapolis. First of all, let's see what happened in the month of July in 2008 compared to July of 2007 for overall real estate activity. This past July, there were 142 new listings put onto the MLS, a decrease of 9% compared to 2007. Closed sales in Eagan were down 31.7%, with 56 properties closing in July of 2008. The average sales price did drop by 8.3%, going from $274,277 to $251,462. The percent of list original list price received at the time of sale dropped 0.3%, going from 95.2% to 94.9%. In Eagan, the average days on market is up 4.1% to 117 days. Thankfully, the overall inventory level for single family homes in Eagan was down 23.6% in July of 2008, with 211 properties on the MLS. The townhome and condo market also saw a sizable decrease in active listings for sale in July of 2008 (10.1%.) Let's now look at year to date numbers, comparing January through July of 2007 to 2008 at the same time. New listings put onto MLS are down 15.7%, with 998 new listings being processed this year. Closed sales are down by 19.5%, with 380 properties closing here in 2008. The average sales price did drop as well, from $266,105 to $249,118. This is a 6.4% year over year drop. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale dropped 3.3%, from 96.5% to 93.2%. In Eagan, the average days on market increased by 31%, going from 112 to 147 days. In conclusion, these numbers are not great news of course. With closed sales down almost 20% year over year, and the average sales price down over 6%, there definitely has been a "correction" that has taken place. As a buyer of course, these market conditions are creating a plethora of opportunities. And the knowledge that the Twin Cities market as a whole has stable fundamentals for long term growth: population increases projected and a solid job base as well. As a seller, realize that homes in Eagan are selling, just not at the same pace as last year. Patience is crucial in this market.
Richfied real estate
Richfield, Minnesota Real Estate Market Monthly Update - June, 2008Richfield is known here in the Twin Cities as a city with an all around convenient location. Whether you are looking to go north, south, east, west, Richfield really is a "short jaunt" from a number of other hotspots in the Twin Cities: the Mall of America, downtown Minneapolis, and the airport. Today let's dive into some real estate numbers for this community, comparing first of all what happened in the month of June in 2008 compared to June of 2007. First, some good news! New listings put onto the MLS this past June were down 35.2%, with 70 properties put onto the market. Closed sales were however also down 24.5%, with 37 listings closings in June of 2008. The average sales price has remained very affordable, especially in comparison to other suburbs here in the Twin Cities. In June of 2008, the average sales price was $187,591, down from $213,372 in June of 2007. The percent of list price received at the time of sale dropped almost 2%, going from 94.7% to 93%. Average days of market increased from 93 to 119 days, an increase of almost 29%. The active for sale inventory level on MLS remained fairly consistent year over year, going from 197 to 195 listings. The active level of townhome and condos in Richfield also stayed level, going from 48 to 45 listings. Let's now look at year to date numbers, comparing January through June of 2007 to 2008 at the same time. New listings are down almost 16.5%, going from 522 to 437. Closed sales unfortunately are also down quite significantly, going from 208 last year to 162 this year. The average sales price stayed very affordable, but still a 14.1% year over year drop. The average sales price in Richfield went from $219,107 to $188,275 here in 2008. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale dropped from 96% to 91.9%. Average days on market is up 28.9%, going from 107 to 138 days. In my opinion, Richfield's real estate values should stay strong long term. With a great location as I described above, and still an extremely attractive average sales price, buyers are afforded outstanding choices. Sellers currently with their homes on the market, must realize that supply is down compared to last year. However, there is still a lot of competition, so price and condition remain paramount.
Fridley MLS
Fridley Minnesota Real Estate Monthly Market Update - June, 2008
"Friendly" Fridley Minnesota! Situated right north of 694 and along the Mississippi River, Fridley is home to many wonderful neighborhoods and real estate developments. On a side note, my father in law has owned and operated a family practice medical clinic in Fridley for decades. He has really enjoyed working in this city. For anyone out of state that is reading this blog entry, Fridley is directly north of downtown Minneapolis; a very convenient location indeed! Today, we thought it would be great to look at the real estate numbers here in 2008 for Fridley. Let's first take a look at the big picture, comparing January through June of 2007 to January of June in 2008. Year to date, there have been 340 listings put onto the MLS. This is down 11% from 2007, when there were 382 new properties put onto the market. Closed sales also are down 15.4% this year, going from 123 closings in 2007 to 104 this year. The average sales price, though still very affordable in comparison to a number of other locations in the Twin Cities, is down 13.5%. In 2007, the average sales price was $204,662, and this year, it is coming in at $176,970. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale has also dropped from 95.5% to 91.5%. Average days on market until sale has increased from 120 days to 178 days. Now let's take a look at June of 2007 compared to the month of June in 2008. New listings stayed steady, with only one more property being put on MLS this past June (68 total.) Closed sales dropped slightly, going from 25 to 22 closings. The average sales price did in fact drop by double digits, going from $201,200 to $177,746. This is a 11.7% year over year drop. The percent of original list price received at the sale did not shift significantly. This number went from 96.2% to 95.6%. Average days on market also stayed fairly steady, moving from 126 days to 121 days. The inventory level for single family homes in Fridley increased by 10.7%, going from 149 to 165. The townhome and condo inventory level dropped by 9 listings, going from 60 to 51 active listings. Overall, though the price of an average home in Fridley has stayed very affordable, the drop in number of closings is not great news. Buyers still have an unbelievable buying opportunity based on these home prices. Whether it be a single family home, condo, townhome...whatever type of property a buyer may be looking for, the inventory levels and pricing still remain extremely attractive in Fridley. As with the entire Twin Cities area, one could say that "Real Estate is on Sale." Don't be fooled though. This will only last a certain period of time. Inventory levels have been shrinking and prices are "bottoming out." People will look back years from now and remember this time period here in the Twin Cities real estate market as one of a buying opportunity.
White Bear Lake real estate
White Bear Lake, Minnesota Real Estate Market Update - June, 2008White Bear Lake is a community with a lot of great attributes. For anyone who is looking to move to this city, it is conveniently located near 35E and 694, two of the major thoroughfares here in the Twin Cities. In addition, talk about some great lakes for your boating pleasure! And not to mention fishing as well! Instead of talking fishing and boating however, we thought it would be great to look at some real estate numbers here in 2008 for White Bear Lake. Let's first take a look at June of 2007 compared to the month of June in 2008. New listings were down 35.1% in June of 2008 (50 properties put onto the MLS.) Closed sales rose very slightly, going from 18 to 20 closings this past June. The average sales price took a dramatic dip, going from $274,703 to $230,497. This is a drop of 16.1%. Average days on market until sale increased 31.2%, going from 132 to 173 days on market. Thankfully, the single family home inventory level in White Bear Lake dropped 11.9%, going from 159 to 140. When comparing the percent of original list price received at the time of sale, there was a 2.2% drop (from 96.7% to 94.5%.) The townhome and condo inventory level stayed the same, with 67 units for sale on MLS in 2007 and 2008. Comparing month to month gives us a glimpse into this market, but now let's take a look at year to date numbers. When comparing January through June of 2007 to January of June in 2008, there has been a drop of 11.7% in new listings put onto the MLS. 332 properties have been put on as new listings this year, compared to 376 from 2007. The average sales price has taken an extremely steep fall. This year, the average sales price in White Bear Lake is $212,355. Last year, it was $269,359. This is a 21.2% year over year drop! The number of closed sales has decreased by 27.5%, going from 142 to 103. Percent of original list price also decreased from 95.7% to 92.2% here in 2008. Average days on market...surprise surprise, increased 18.6%, from 138 to 164 days on market. Though most of these numbers are by no means a surprise to me, the large drop in average sale price is. We have obviously seen a drop in most of our communities here in the Twin Cities when looking at 2007 to 2008 average sales price numbers. However, this decrease of 21.2% is definitely one of the largest we have seen yet. Does this mean prices will continue to drop in White Bear Lake? Of course no one knows for sure, but, with the recent bill that was passed in Congress ($7500 credit to first time buyers), our local market surely should see an uptick in new purchase agreements and demand as a whole. Our team also has a number of great listings in White Bear Lake, and we have seen a good amount of showing activity on these listings the last few weeks as well.
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