New construction homes have historically always commanded a premium price over the existing home market. However, since the housing downturn and Great Recession; the gap between the two product types has widened. In the Twin Cities Metro Area (as of July 2014) the median listing price for a new construction home was $359,900 ($147 per…read more
It’s Memorial Day weekend; the first weekend of summer where Minnesotan’s are known for “going to the lake” for the next 12 precious weekends. With the never-ending winter of 2014, summer has finally arrived and people are once again ready to be out doors and enjoying Minnesota summers. The second home market, often called the…read more
The Twin Cities real estate market continues to favor sellers as the number of homes for sale (i.e supply) continues to be tight for buyers. Although supply has increased somewhat in the spring; there are not enough homes listed for sale in the Twin Cities Metro Area to meet buyer demand. As of April 2014,…read more
A recent report by the National Association of Realtors for the first quarter of 2014 shows one-third of all real estate sales in Minnesota are for cash. Nationally, about 43% of all sales in the U.S. were cash transactions. During the Great Recession, the percentage of cash buyers increased significantly from mostly investors who purchased…read more
The following article and Infographic shows the average downpayment by geography. According to LendingTree, the average down payment in Minnesota is about 14.5%, ranking us #20 in the U.S. Although lenders continue to demand a high-level of due diligence on prospective lenders, they have loosened their belts from the over correction that occurred during the…read more
This past year was a pivotal year in the housing recovery in the Twin Cities. The Twin Cities Metro Area shifted from a buyers to sellers market over the course of the year. The number of sales were up nearly 9% while the median sales price increased over 14% for a year-end median sales price…read more
Over the past few weeks, mortgage rates jumped at the higest levels in the past 30 years as a percentage increase. This jump was in response to the Fed pulling back on the Qualitative Easing program as the economy improves. This announcement resulted in a rise in the 10-year treasuries which mortgage rates follow. After…read more
Technology has changed the home buying and selling process signficantly over the past few years. With the addition of Apps, today’s buyers and sellers have access to real estate data that previously was tougher to obtain. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of real estate apps available. From home searches to mortgage applications to…read more
No doubt about it, buying is cheaper than renting today in the Twin Cities if you have good credit and funds for a downpayment. The rental vacancy rate across the Metro Area is about 3%; indicating a tight rental market and increased rents from landlords. Nearly all of the new rental construction today has rents…read more
No doubt about it; the Twin Cities real estate market is in recovery mode. There is no shortage of buyers who are competing for a small inventory of homes available. Inventory continues to be down by about 30%, resulting in a competitive market for homes priced right and appealing to first-time home buyers. The first-time…read more
