What’s in store for the Minneapolis housing market? What has it been doing lately? The above video offers a few insights.

What’s Been Happening with the Minneapolis Housing Market?

For Jan, 2010, sales of Minneapolis homes were down 3% for the same month last year. The hot streak in the market has cooled off a bit. This has been the second consecutive year-over-year drop in sales, although the decreases have been very small.

Traditional, or non-lender mediated sales were up 27% since Jan 2009, coinciding with a drop in short-sale and foreclosure home sales of 12% since last year. In the meantime, inventory levels dropped 16%. This has caused home prices to stabilize; January 2010 was the first time the median Minneapolis home price was up 1.3% after three years of declining prices.

Days-on-market times are down 7.5%, giving home sellers a ray of hope.
What’s Next?

It’s hard to say, although we know that the two things that have fueled overall improvements in the Minneapolis housing market might be going away. The federal home buyer tax credit will expire April 30th, and the insanely low interest rates are bound to go up when the Fed stops buying mortgage-backed securities.

Related posts:

1. Minneapolis Real Estate Market Report 2009
2. Market Analysis vs. Appraisal

Minneapolis has been dubbed “City of Lakes,” and could just as easily be called “City of Parks.”  Miles of beautiful walking and bicycle trails grace the edges of Lake Harriet and Minnehaha Creek.  If you own a Southwest Minneapolis home,  your summers will be filled with opportunities for swimming, sailing, biking, or rollerblading.  Lake Harriet is also home to the Lyndale Park Rose Garden and the Japanese-style Peace Garden containing various dwarfed trees.

Browse all Minneapolis homes here.

If your interests include fishing, you are in the right place.  Lake Harriet is so densely populated with bluegill sunfish that stunted growth has been observed.  Surprisingly, this metro lake also contains walleyes.  The lake gets deep fast, so the best place to find them is right off of the weedlines.

Southwest Minneapolis Real Estate

The community consists of several neighborhoods, including East Harriet, King Field, Fulton, Lynnhurst, Armatage, Windom, Kenny, and a trendy, upscale neighborhood called Linden Hills.  The commercial section of Linden Hills was originally built along a trolley corridor.  A portion of that trolley line still operates, and serves as a summer attraction at the northwest corner of Minneapolis.  Stroll through Linden Hills, and you may spot a newly built, traditional Craftsman style bungalow by Highpoint Builders, or a Charles Cudd cottage residence mixed in with some of the older Tudor and Victorian style  homes.

According to the Northstar Regional MLS, there are 265 Southwest Minneapolis homes for sale, going for an average listing price of 407,790, although this may be skewed downward by a handful of lower priced lender-mediated properties.  Styles represented in this area include European Country Villas, Georgian Colonials, and some stately three story homes.

Contact me at 651-230-4889 for more information about available Southwest Minneapolis homes.

Related posts:

1. Minneapolis Duplexes for Sale
2. Eden Prairie Townhomes for Sale

Video from Minneapolis Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS

Are you wondering what the Minneapolis real estate market did in 2009?  Watch the video and find out what information Realtors are assessing to determine market trends. The video summarized the results for four major indicators  that tell us that Minneapolis real estate is coming back:

1. The market improved significantly over the last year. The year 2009 will be remembered as the year that the Minneapolis real estate market started to recover. There were a number of indicators that the housing market is healing.

2. There were 52,000 pending sales tallied at the end of 2009. This is an increase of 18%. This represents the biggest number of buyers since 2005.

What can this market increase be attributed to?

• Pent up demand
• Increased affordability
• Federal tax credit
• Low rates

3. Home sales under $150,000 jumped 72%. First time Minneapolis home buyers rushed into the market to take advantage of the first-time homebuyers tax credit.

4. Inventory is down 22% at the start of this year compared to last year. The supply of homes is down to five months.  Five or six months is considered to be a healthy market.

Related posts:

1. Minneapolis Housing Market Report

Chart and statistics provided by Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.

The home sales streak continues….. this is the 13th month that we have seen more sales than there were one year ago.  July was up 16% from last year, with 5174 Twin Cities MN homes for sale seeing purchase agreements.  About 43.6% of these sales were for lender-mediated properties (i.e. foreclosures and short sales.)

The number of Twin Cities MN homes for sale is declining.  This is evidenced by weak numbers for new listings being posted.  July saw only 7,769 new mls listings.  Numbers of Minneapolis real estate listings have dropped dramatically, and Twin Cities inventory levels are down 21.6% from a year ago.  Supply is definitely shrinking.

Median prices have dropped 17.8% from last year, but is up slightly since last quarter.  Median price for Twin Cities homes in July was $171,000.  This means that this is still a great time to buy, but the trends suggest that this window of opportunity might not last forever.

Related posts:

1. Minneapolis Housing Market Report
2. Minneapolis Real Estate Market Report 2009

When we hear the word “foreclosure,” we may think of boarded up homes in bad neighborhoods, “no trespassing” signs, and perhaps some freeze damage thrown in for good effect.  Also, we tend to think that Minneapolis foreclosures are all found in the 200k or less price range.  While it is true that there are plenty of lender mediated properties in lower price ranges, there are a handful of upscale (1M+) Minnesota luxury home foreclosures available.  The good news is that many of them are in excellent condtion, and frequently they boast all of the vintage architectural details like lead-camed glass, oak pillars, and oak-tread stairways. Several of them boast prime Minnesota shoreline along Lake Minnetonka, in upscale neighborhoods of Orono and Minnetrista.

How did these properties end up in foreclosure?  Well, many of the Minnesota luxury home owners defaulted on their mortgages for the same reasons as everyone else, and in many cases, a risky mortgage product was a culprit. Also, many of these homes were purchased via “no-doc” or “liar loans” as mortgage officers facetiously call them.  Many of these homes were financed on the basis of unsubstantiated information, and the borrowers may have been a greater risk than what lenders were led to believe.  Also, the credit crisis made it difficult to obtain jumbo financing, as rates were higher than conventional mortgages and underwriting standards became tough.

Fortunately, the credit crunch for the Minnesota luxury home market  has eased up considerably, and jumbo financing rates are coming down to approach those of conventional programs. Combine this trend with the prevailing low real estate prices, and you have an ideal opportunity to own a luxury home that may have previously been out of your reach.  While it is a myth that you can buy Minneapolis luxury home foreclosures for pennies on the dollar, you still can find savings and value.

Foreclosed Minnesota Luxury Homes for Sale

At the time of this post, there were only ten listings priced over 1M on the Northstar Regional MLS/IDX feed.  Keep in mind that not all mls listings are posted on the idx system, and that we may be able to find others that are available in your area.  Also, this number may not reflect “pre-foreclosure” listings that are NOT short sale situations because there is a fair amount of equity.  Also it does not include homes that may have been listed at $1M or higher, but have recently had price reductions below that mark.  If you would like more comprehensive information about distressed luxury properties, please contact us.

Related posts:

1. Minnesota Foreclosure Process
2. Twin Cities MN Home Sales Trends

We have all heard that the real estate mantra is “location, location, location!” If you have been meditating about Eden Prairie townhomes, you already know that this is the ideal location for those who are looking for convenience, entertainment or dining amenities, good shopping, good schools, and plenty of recreational opportunities.  Major arteries like Interstate 494, MN Highway 169, and MN Highway 212 border and transect this southwestern Minneapolis suburb, making the commute to the inner metro area just a short drive.  The new MN 312 makes a drive from western-most Eden Prairie townhomes in Bearpath, Summerfield, Jamestown, or Hawthorne to Eden Prairie Center a breeze!

In terms of real estate investment, Eden Prairie townhomes are strategically located.  Eden Prairie is bounded by the Minnesota River on the south side, and other municipalities on the other borders.  There is no room to grow, and this community is almost fully developed.  This means that Eden Prairie townhouse owners will not face much competition from builders when they decide to sell.  Excellent schools and a high quality of life also progress the property values for local homeowners.  Independent School District 272 is nationally recogized for academic achievement, and many people will relocate to Eden Prairie just for the schools alone.

Finding Townhomes in Eden Prairie MN

The townhome market boasts a sundry list of choices; options include everything from $1M townhomes in the Bearpath Eden Prairie community to manor-style units in the low $100’s overlooking Bent Creek Golf Course.  One bedroom condos by Southwest Station are also available in the low $100’s, offering a care-free lifestyle, an assortment of eateries nearby, and access to the MTC mass transit system.

The Eden Prairie MLS townhome inventory is dominated by midrange units constructed by Rottlund, Centex, and Pulte.  Most of these units are two-story slab-on-grade townhouses in well manicured associations like Pinebrook, Staring Lake, Jamestown, and Hawthorne.  These homes are particularly popular because of price, convenience, and special amenities like giant walk-in closets, gas fireplaces, and soaring vaulted ceilings. Some nice one-level units in Staring Lake were built by Pulte to accomodate the demographic trends of an aging population.  These are actually twin homes with bright sunrooms, greatrooms, and roomy eat in kitchens.  Older units on Arrowood Drive are nestled on top of a hill that provides panoramic views of Franlo Park.

For more comprehensive MLS information regarding Eden Prairie homes, please contact me.

Related posts:

1. Staring Lake Townhomes in Eden Prairie
2. Eden Prairie Townhomes in Hawthorne