Minnesota Real Estate Blog

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Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Twin Cities Metro Homes Sales Plunge 18 Percent as it Gets Better for Home Sellers

Recent home shoppers in April have found it even tougher to find a home as new listings are down over 10 percent from last year.

This summer is setting up to be the slimmest pickings for buyers since the 1990's. The number of homes for sale in the 13 county metro area is 9,079 and is down 21.9% since last year. This compares to the high in July 2007 which saw 35,904 homes on the market at that time.

The real shortage is in the entry level type homes area the Twin Cities. For homes under $300,000, the total number of homes available is 3,135; which is down 34.4% from last year. The three main factors are behind the shortage are; a large swell of first-time homebuyers looking to stop paying high priced rents, baby boomers looking to downsize and new construction homes being to expensive. The average new construction home sold for $399,500 in April.

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Fewer listings means higher prices. That is especially true for the first ring suburbs, as many of those cities saw a sales price increase of over 10% since last year. Leading the way, Mendota Heights with a median sales price over 34% higher than April last year, Roseville was next highest and saw a price jump of 23.6% over last year.

Homes have been moving the quickest in New Hope, with only 7 days as the median days on the market. The biggest change we have seen was in Mendota Heights as well as New Hope, both cities have had the average home sell in more than half the time as it would have in April last year.

As for the cities that have seen the biggest drop in homes for sale year or year, New Hope again takes the cake with 59% fewer homes for sale than this time last year. Crystal and Shoreview weren't far behind at 55.4% and 53.4% fewer homes for sale, respectively.

With school coming to a close and summer right around the corner, on top of the lowest levels of homes for sale in the past two decades. It is the perfect time to sell your home, visit here for a free home value analysis.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Why is it so Hard to Find a Home?

Why is it so Hard to Find a Home to Purchase? - 5/8/2018

Many buyers in today's market are asking; "Why is it so hard for us to find a home in our price range?" "Is it just us having bad luck?" "Should we just rent another year and wait?"

The answer is no, it's not just you, you're not alone! And no, you shouldn't wait another year! With home prices on the rise and projected to keep on the rise, as well as rising interest rates, waiting another year doesn't help you out. You will likely have even less purchasing power with higher rates, and with housing prices projected to stay on the rise, you will have even fewer homes to choose from.

So why is it so hard to find a home in today's market? For every 8 buyers looking for a home under $300,000, their is only 1 home for sale. The housing supply is at historic lows and is down over 30% from two years ago.

So you're asking....What are some things I can do to improve our odds, if we find ourselves in a multiple offer situation?

1. Don't ask for personal property. Maybe you find yourself loving their dining room set, don't ask for it. Drooling over that patio furniture set, skip it. It will weaken your offer when up against others.

2. Make your offer as clean as possible. Don't have a contingency in your offer, stating that you need to sell your home first, the seller is likely not wanting to wait for that. Your offer should also be free of any seller paid closing costs when up against other offers, another reason some offers get thrown out by the seller.

3. Consider waiving the inspection or shortening the time period. I would never recommend waiving the inspection altogether, I would recommend shortening the inspection time period down to 4 or 5 days, from the standard 10 day window. This shows the seller that you are serious and wanting to make moves quickly.

4. Write a personal letter to the seller. Writing a personal letter to the seller will increase your chances on getting your offer accepted. Explaining how much you love their home, and how you can picture your family starting in their home, could possibly convince the seller to pick your offer over the next one.

5. Consider a larger Earnest Money Deposit. Your earnest money is strongly considered how likely you are to follow through with the purchase on the home. A larger deposit of the traditional 1-2% is viewed stronger by the seller that you fully intend on purchasing their home.

6. Make sure the offer is complete. First and foremost make sure you have an agent that understands what a full offer is. Make sure all of the disclosures are sent with the original offer, this could include; Any Purchase Agreement addendum's, Sellers Disclosures, Lead-Based Paint Disclosures, Earnest Money receipt/proof. In the competitive market of today, this could easily get your offer tossed out.

7. Offering Above List Price. Lastly but most importantly, writing an offer that will net the seller the most amount of money will almost always get the job done. If you are needing closing costs to be paid for by the seller, it is crucial that you write that into a higher purchase price so the seller still walks away with the same amount of money at closing time.

While these all sound like absolute no-brainer things to do, all the little things add up and will increase your chances in the end!

If you would like a fun and smooth home buying experience, while being informed from Day 1. Contact me and I will walk you through each step of the way on how to get started!

Text ScottSold to 763-280-5777 to download my home search app! The most up to date local app in the app store!

Email: Scott.Swennes@results.net

Phone: 763-331-4775

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Monday, February 12, 2018

Today's Market: What $300,000 buys around the Twin Cities Metro

Blaine

Built in 1998, this three bedroom, two bathroom home has 1,755 of finished square feet. Home features include an updated kitchen, updated bathrooms, a 3 car garage, custom cabinet work, two walk in closets and a huge backyard patio for entertaining.

Burnsville

Built in 1969, this four bedroom, three bathroom home has 2,505 square feet. This home features; an updated kitchen including custom oak cabinets, granite counter tops and beautiful flooring. Private Master suite, all with a skyline view of downtown Minneapolis!

Falcon Heights

Built in 1949, this home has three bedrooms, two bathrooms with 1,838 in finished square feet. This beautiful completely remodeled house features stainless steel appliances, new carpets, updated bathrooms, finished lower level, a fenced in year and a large detached two care garage.

Otsego

Completed New Construction home built 2017, this 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom home features an efficient kitchen with granite center island, custom cabinets and walk in pantry. Main floor is custom plank flooring throughout with a corner stone fireplace in the great room.

Saint Michael

Completed New Construction home built 2017, this 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home features a beautiful open floor plan, custom white cabinets with . Main floor with a corner stone fireplace in the great room.

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Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Homes for Sale: What $250,000 can buy around the Twin Cities

Champlin

Built in 1987, this three bedroom, two bathroom home has 1,558 square feet. Home features include an updated kitchen, updated bathrooms, a 3 car garage with a large tree'd yard in a quiet cul-de-sac.

Coon Rapids

Built in 1985, this four bedroom, two bathroom home has 2,308 square feet. This home features; stainless steel appliances, vaulted ceiling, master suite, fully finished basement with a 4th bedroom, newer siding, windows and gutters, all in a beautiful fenced in yard with an excellent patio for entertaining guests!

Maple Grove

Built in 1971, this three bedroom, two bathroom home has 2,193 square feet. Completely remodeled gorgeous home, that features stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, finished basement and is close to major highways, and still walking distance to the Elm Creek Park Reserve.

Minneapolis

Built in 1912, this beautiful Lowry Hill Condo has three bedrooms, and one bathroom. This condo boats 1,630 square feet, and is in the perfect location, close to Uptown, Downtown and all the major highways. It features, natural woodwork, in-unit laundry, and the association covers all utilities except electricity!

Saint Louis Park

Built in 1951, this one story home has three bedrooms, one bathrooms with a finished 1,427 square feet. This beautiful completely remodeled house features stainless steel appliances, natural hardwood floors,new carpet in the lower level, a large private deck in the backyard and a detached two car garage.

Richfield

Built in 1950, this one and a half story home has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and has a finished 1,427 square feet, the basement is awaiting your finishing touches to add more finished square footage. The home is located on a quiet one-way street near schools, shopping & restaurants.

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Thursday, April 27, 2017

Would-be to Should-be

Would-be to Should-be - 4/27/2017

Some would-be buyers have emotional reasons to own a home like having a place of their own where they can raise a family, feel safe and secure and enjoy their friends’ company. Other buyers’ dominant reasons might be financial in nature such as building equity or lowering their cost of housing.

Regardless of what might be motivating people to want their own home, it is easy to justify that now is a good time to purchase. Let’s look at a $250,000 example using a 3.5% Down payment FHA loan.

The total payment will be about roughly $1,835 dollars a month, but you can't forget all the tax/savings benefits.

In this example, when you consider the monthly principal reduction, the monthly appreciation and the tax savings, even with money added for monthly maintenance, the net cost of housing is less than half the total house payment.

Considering all those advantages, the would-be buyer is spending over $1,100 per month more to rent than it would be to own. In a year’s time, they would lose close to $14,000 per year which is more than the down payment of $8,750 required on this price home.

Most would-be buyers understand that a home is a big investment but they may not understand the advantage of the leverage caused by the low down payment mortgage. The benefits extend beyond a return on the down payment but to the value of the home.

In this example, the $8,750 down payment grows to an equity of $73,546 in seven years based on 2% annual appreciation and normal amortization on a 30-year loan. If you calculated that as a rate of return, you’d be challenged to find anything that could compare with it.

If you need any help or have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me at 763-331-4775 or Scott.Swennes@results.net. Part of my greatest satisfaction is helping would-be buyers understand why they should-be.

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Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Not Available For All Buyers

Not Available for All Buyers - 2/26/2017

Lenders regularly publish mortgage rates but they may not be available for all buyers.

Imagine that the mortgage payment based on an advertised rate influenced a buyer to make an offer on a home. After negotiating a binding contract, this buyer makes a loan application and finds out that for any number of possible reasons, that rate isn’t available.

Even if the person does financially qualify for a loan at a higher interest rate, it will not be the payment that the buyer expected when the contract was negotiated.

Lenders evaluate several factors such as the borrower’s credit score, debt-to-income and loan-to-value ratios. These variables are used to assess the risk associated with the repayment of the loan.

While mortgage money is a commodity, it isn’t priced the same way items are that involve cash for goods. The lender puts up the money today based on a promise from the borrower to repay over a long term, possibly up to thirty years.

The simple solution to avoid surprises such as the one described here is to get pre-approved at the beginning of the home search process. Since pre-qualification does not mean the same thing to all lenders, call if you’d like a recommendation of a trusted mortgage professional.

Source: http://www.betterhomeowners.com

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Thursday, February 16, 2017

Homes for Sale: What $350,000 can buy around the Twin Cities

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Andover

Built in 2000, this six bedroom, four bathroom home has 3,640 square feet on a third of an acre. This home features a large updated kitchen, three bedrooms on the upper level, a new roof, new siding and a three-car garage.

Brooklyn Park

Built in 2005, this four bedroom, three bathroom home has 2,736 square feet. This home features four bedrooms all on one level, upper-level laundry, granite countertops with a huge center island, an unfinished basement and a three-car garage.

Maple Grove

Built in 1989, this four bedroom, three bathroom rambler has 2,518 square feet. This home features 3 main level bedrooms and two main floor bathrooms, a walk-out basement and an oversized two car garage.

New Brighton

Built in 1985, this four bedroom, four bathroom home has 2,813 square feet, located in a cul-de-sac. This home features hardwood floors throughout, 4 bedrooms on one level, a walk-out basement, and an oversized two car garage.

Saint Paul

Built in 1999, this four bedroom, four bathroom home has 3,002 square feet, located in a cul-de-sac. This home features a four car garage, a workshop underneath the garage, a large kitchen, and a private lot with mature trees.

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Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Homes for Sale: What $250,000 can buy around the Twin Cities

Blaine

Built in 1975, this four bedroom, two bathroom home has 1,856 square feet. Completely renovated home features updated bathrooms, stainless steel appliances, large master suite and a 2 car garage.

Brooklyn Park

Built in 1995, this four bedroom, two bathroom home has 2,122 square feet, in a convenient location. It features an open floor plan with a vaulted Living Room, Dining room, and Kitchen. Also features an over-sized 3 car garage.

Hopkins

Built in 1951, this three bedroom, two bathroom home has 1,638 square feet. Completely remodeled gorgeous home. It features stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, finished basement and close to major highways.

Minneapolis

Built in 1911, this four bedroom, four bathroom home has 3,027 square feet. The home features a chefs kitchen, hardwood floors, wood stove, finished lower level and a detached two car garage.

Saint Louis Park

Built in 1911, this three bedroom, two bathroom home has 1,720 square feet. The home features an updated kitchen, hardwood floors, finished lower level with a kitchenette.

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