Wednesday, March 31, 2010

March 2010 Twin Cities Real Estate Market Video Update—Good News Continues Despite the Snow!

The Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® just released the March monthly skinny video a few days ago. From the information provided it appears that snowy weather didn't slow down the home buyers in the Twin Cities market. Over 3500 purchase agreements were written during the last month. And which sellers were on the receiving end of those purchase agreements? Traditional sellers at lower price points (as opposed to lender-mediated or bank-owned properties). This is no doubt due to buyers wanting to get an agreement accepted or countered in a timely manner combined with traditional sellers willingness to negotiate as the deadline to the $8000/$6500 tax credit looms nearer. Check out the video for a full recap of the housing market in the Twin Cities area.



Looking for home sales statistics on a specific community? Check out this link to see snapshots and detailed reports on 20 different north metro communities including Ham Lake, Blaine, Forest Lake and White Bear Lake:


2009 Real Estate Sales Statistics for the North and East Metro—Snapshot VS Detailed Report

If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet , Homebuyers Success Packet or sign up for Listingbook Twin Cities Home Search. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

2009 Real Estate Sales Statistics for the North and East Metro—Snapshot VS Detailed Report


Real estate marketing statistics can be confusing. Local television news reports can seem to be conflicting and if you are a home owner or home buyer, you may have trouble understanding what you hear. On one channel there will be a news report proclaiming good news with rising average sales prices for several consecutive months in the Twin Cities metro area flip channels and there another talking head giving gloomy report of how foreclosures and short sales are causing a significant decline in the market value of homes in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

Since January, I have been posting real estate market statistics for the communities in the north metro where I do the bulk of my business. While I work in Anoka County, Southern Chisago County, North and Eastern Ramsey County and North Washington County, the focus of my business is Ham Lake, Blaine, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake and Centennial school districts. That does include a good number of communities so it takes a bit of time to pull all of the information together.

There are two types of reports that I post. The first is a quick snapshot that includes information taken directly from the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® website’s Top 100+ Report (a comprehensive database with statistics for 205 different Twin Cities communities). I pull these stats into a chart and post along with a quick synopsis of what happened during the past year. I have done quite a few of these "short and sweet" looks into the basic real estate housing stats for several north and east metro communities.

Housing Statistic Snapshots

But as is said, the devil is in the details . I have another version of market reports for specific communities are not snapshots. In the communities that I work in on a daily basis, I want to really help people to understand the market so I take good hard look at the real estate sales on a quarterly basis and post a more detailed report. I also post a year end review several communities I work in and know well.

Detailed Statistic Reports

Blaine, MN Year End Real Estate Market Statistics 2009
Forest Lake, MN Year End Real Estate Market Statistics for 2009
Ham Lake, MN Year End Real Estate Market Statistics for 2009
Lino Lakes, MN Year End Real Estate Market Statistics 2009
White Bear Lake, MN Year End Real Estate Market Statistics 2009

When I take the time to pull statistics directly from the Twin Cities Multiple Listing Service (MLS) I look for specific details like cumulative days on the market (CDOM). This comes into play every time a home is relisted as a new listing in the MLS. The snapshots DOM do not take relisting into account so the time on the market appears to be much shorter than it really is in some area.

I also look at CDOM by price point. Homes in the lower price ranges are selling much more quickly that in the higher price points. A quick overview does not get that specific.

Since each community is so different, I will examine different things in different areas. Blaine has an abundance of townhomes. Since townhomes are lingering on the market in all price points, this does have an affect on the CDOM if the sales are looked as an aggregate. But if the townhomes and single family homes are looked at separately, the details give home buyers and sellers more useful information than a one-size-fits-all quick look at the market. Now in Forest Lake, lakeshore homes are a focus while in Ham Lake and Lino Lakes, acreage comes into play.

Knowing how to pull the right comparables and read the market comes from knowing a specific area and what makes the community different. Finding a REALTOR® that knows the details is imperative when buying or selling in this topsy-turvey, continually changing real estate market. There is no one-size-fits-all agent when buying or selling a home today. It is necessary to work with an expert.

Looking for Lakeshore Foreclosures? Check out this post!

Lakeshore Foreclosures Available in the North East Twin Cities Metro


If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet , Homebuyers Success Packet or sign up for Listingbook Twin Cities Home Search. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.


2009 Year End Snapshot of Mahtomedi, MN Home Sales Statistics


In this northern Washington County community, just east of White Bear Lake, closed home sales were down in 2009 by over 21%. With few starter priced homes in Mahtomedi, the tax credit did not jumpstart sales as it had in many other metro suburbs. The average sales price of sold homes was down as the foreclosure and lender-mediated homes are everywhere. New listings are also down significantly in Mahtomedi so the market is starting to become more balanced. Sellers are still getting 92% of their asking price though the average sales price dropped significantly to $265,705. Time on the market to sell a home, has remained flat at just over four months. It appears that the Mahtomedi market is still working toward becoming balanced again but home buyers may still have an edge in this community.


If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet , Homebuyers Success Packet or sign up for Listingbook Twin Cities Home Search. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.


Monday, March 1, 2010

Year End 2009 Snapshot of North St Paul, MN Home Sales Statistics


North St Paul, that quaint community on the east side of the Twin Cities with the big smiling snowman, has had a similar year over year changes from 2009 compared to 2008 as many other communities in the metro. New Listings are down and sales are up which equates to less inventory. The average sales price is down but not in a free fall. It is down just over 7% and with the ratio of price received versus list price going up, this eastern Ramsey County community seems to be making a bit of progress toward a more stable balanced market. The average days-on-the-market statistic is down by well over 10% so homes are staying on the market for less time. Traditional sellers that reside in North St. Paul who are considering a move to take advantage of the tax credit will have an opportunity this spring as there are few well maintained homes at lower price points as compared to buyers in the current market.


If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet , Homebuyers Success Packet or sign up for Listingbook Twin Cities Home Search. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2010 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/

Year End 2009 Snapshot of Linwood, MN Home Sales Statistics


Linwood real estate has a bit of a better outlook after 2009. New listings were down slightly but closed home sales were up significantly. And Linwood was one of the very few north metro communities where the average sales price actually increased; albeit only 4%. After the rough 2008, this is welcome news for Linwood homeowners. This rural Anoka County community featuring acreage and lakeshore properties is located just north of Columbus and south of Stacy, saw a bit of a decrease in time on the market down 8% from 179 days in 2008 to 164 days in 2009. Not all of Linwood’s news is rosy however. The area is continuing to experience one of the lowest ratios of sales price to list price at just under 90%. This meaning sellers in Linwood are negotiating hard to get their homes sold.

If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet , Homebuyers Success Packet or sign up for Listingbook Twin Cities Home Search. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2010 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/