Our updated Twin Cities Market Report suggests that things are getting a little better out there.  For graphs and charts of the key statistics, click the PDF link at the bottom of the post.

Prospective homeowners appear to have celebrated our Independence holiday by buying a home. For the week ending July 5, there were 735 signed purchase agreements (pending sales), up 7.3 percent from the same week one year ago. New listings increased by 2.5 percent for the same time [...]]]> 
Our updated Twin Cities Market Report suggests that things are getting a little better out there.  For graphs and charts of the key statistics, click the PDF link at the bottom of the post.

Prospective homeowners appear to have celebrated our Independence holiday by buying a home. For the week ending July 5, there were 735 signed purchase agreements (pending sales), up 7.3 percent from the same week one year ago. New listings increased by 2.5 percent for the same time period comparison but took the expected dive from one week prior due to the 4th of July holiday.

Days on Market Until Sale fell from last month to 147 but is still 13.1 percent higher than a year ago, and the Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale increased to 92.8 percent. Both changes are additional signs that home sellers are beginning to experience some light relief.

However, not all indicators are rosy, as the Months Supply of Inventory increased slightly to 10.6 months, up 11.0 percent from last July, and the Housing Affordability Index dipped slightly to 148 due to another increase in interest rates.

Click on the following link for a PDF with key charts and graphs:
MAAR Weekly Market Activity Report

Plentiful jobs, excellent schools, affordable housing – according to CNN’s Money Magazine top 100 list of America’s best small cities, 9 Minnesota cities have all that and more. And even better, the report ranked our very own northwest suburb, Plymouth, MN, as the #1 place to live among U.S. cities with populations of 50,000 to 300,000!

The ranking touts Plymouth’s “topnotch” schools, plentiful jobs, affordable housing, low crime rate and active outdoor culture. In addition, the report shows that Plymouth [...]]]> Plentiful jobs, excellent schools, affordable housing – according to CNN’s Money Magazine top 100 list of America’s best small cities, 9 Minnesota cities have all that and more. And even better, the report ranked our very own northwest suburb, Plymouth, MN, as the #1 place to live among U.S. cities with populations of 50,000 to 300,000!

The ranking touts Plymouth’s “topnotch” schools, plentiful jobs, affordable housing, low crime rate and active outdoor culture. In addition, the report shows that Plymouth has a significantly higher-than-average median family income, family purchasing power, math and reading test scores, and percentage of residents with a health plan (91.2%); AND lower-than-average auto insurance premiums, shorter commute times, and lower median home prices. Here are a few other things they say about our little gem of a city…“Home prices are within reason: The typical three-bedroom, two-bath house goes for $350,000. The city’s main school district is ranked among the top three in the state, and for culture, Plymouth’s open-air amphitheater, the Hilde Performance Center, hosts numerous summer concerts. Residents are a quick drive from the Mall of America, the nation’s biggest mall.

And did we mention the outdoors? Plymouth boasts more than half a dozen sizable bodies of water. Of course, this being Minnesota, winter can be brutal: January’s average low temperature is about 13°F. But when the mercury plummets, the locals get busy. In February the city hosts a Fire & Ice Festival that includes mini-golf, bowling and basketball – all right on the ice.”

Money ranks the communities based on financial data, housing, safety, crime rates, weather and similar factors. And while no other Minnesota city made the top 10, the state was well represented, taking 9 of the top 100: Eagan came in at #17, Apple Valley at 24, Lakeville at 26, Eden Prairie at 40, Maple Grove at 41, Burnsville at 43, Rochester at 70 and Blaine at 93.

To read more about why Plymouth is such a fantastic place to live, click here for Money Magazine’s full report on the city. And if you want to get your hands on your own piece of this small city oasis, be sure to check out our latest listing at 18205 County Road 24 in Plymouth or any of our other great properties at www.donedam.com/listings.

Google has been synonymous with everything from great search, to amazing free email, to maps, etc…but one of their relatively new features (for Minnesota at least) is Google Street View. Google Street View is built right into their Google Maps feature. The implications of this tool for your home search are enormous. Google Street View allows you to type in an address, location, or point of interest and then take a virtual walk through the [...]]]> View Larger Map

Google has been synonymous with everything from great search, to amazing free email, to maps, etc…but one of their relatively new features (for Minnesota at least) is Google Street View. Google Street View is built right into their Google Maps feature. The implications of this tool for your home search are enormous. Google Street View allows you to type in an address, location, or point of interest and then take a virtual walk through the neighborhood.

For example, if you were interested in our listing on 1511 W 33rd Street in Minneapolis and wanted to see how far your actual walk to Lake Calhoun would be, you could go to www.google.com/maps, type in the address and click search. You’ll notice 5 options in your upper-right hand corner. The one farthest to the left is “Street View”. If you click on it, it will highlight all the streets that Street View is available for in a light blue color. You’ll also see a little yellow person pop up. If you click on that yellow person, it brings up a small window with a picture of the approximate address location (some of the pictures are more recent than others). Now, using your arrow keys or your mouse, you can walk up and down the street, turn right or left, and zoom in and out. If you head West from our current location, you’ll take a nice 2 block stroll to Lake Calhoun.

Minnesota is not completely covered yet by the Street View team, but the majority of the Twin Cities has ample coverage. So now, not only can you search for your future home online, but you can also take a stroll around the neighborhood…all while in the comfort of your current abode (and in your pajamas if you’d like)!

Here are some other resources and fun stuff for Google Street View:

Google’s Own Street View Tutorial

Some Fun Pictures That Were Taken While Creating Street View – gtstreetsightings.com

There are currently at least 29 short sales that are available for sale in the Edina and Southwest Minneapolis markets (found by searching in agent comments for “bank approval” and “short sale”). In the Camden area of Minneapolis, there are at least 70. If I look at Minneapolis proper, the number is over 315…St. Paul proper gives us over 300 as well. So, needless to say, there are a good amount of short sales out there. The question is, [...]]]>

There are currently at least 29 short sales that are available for sale in the Edina and Southwest Minneapolis markets (found by searching in agent comments for “bank approval” and “short sale”). In the Camden area of Minneapolis, there are at least 70. If I look at Minneapolis proper, the number is over 315…St. Paul proper gives us over 300 as well. So, needless to say, there are a good amount of short sales out there. The question is, what does that mean to you, the buyer? How can you keep your dream home from vanishing before your eyes (like the one above)? Short sales open a whole new can of worms throughout the buying process…but first, a short (no pun intended) explanation of them.

In the current market, its no secret that inventory is high. If you look back in history, you can see spikes of inventory followed by lulls. What makes this time around a little different are the sheer number of foreclosures and “short sales” that make up the inventory. Most people are familiar with foreclosures, but when I mention short sales to people, the glazed look over their eyes has led me into deeper explanations almost every time. A short sale usually occurs when a seller owes more on their mortgage than their house can sell for in the current market. The bank or lender agrees to reduce the loan due from the seller. The homeowner sells the home for the current market price and the bank or lender receives the proceeds from the sale. They will then release the homeowner from their debt obligation. I’ll get much more detailed regarding the short sale process in my next post (What Every Seller Should Know About Short Sales).

First, the good news…

Short Sales can bring great opportunities for home buyers. In the transactions that have involved a short sale where we have represented the buyers this year, the buyers have typically purchased the home at a good discount in comparison to similar homes in the neighborhood (analyzed through a comprehensive comparable market analysis). The homes are usually in pretty good shape as well, as they are more often owner occupied than foreclosures by owners who are looking to just get out from under their mortgages, rather than being forced to vacate by their bank or lender. It call all look like a pretty rosy picture…until

Now, the bad news…

Short Sales can be a nightmare to navigate through on the buyer side. First, lets assume a house has been selected by the buyer. In the comments of the listing, it says something like “sale subject to bank approval”. That’s your first clue that a short sale is being attempted by the seller. Now, one of two scenarios has taken place:

1. The listing agent and the seller did their homework before they put the home on the market and contacted the bank or lender. They talked to the bank or lender about what they were going to do, how they were going to price the home, and the proper steps and paperwork needed by the bank to help the short sale move along smoothly

2. More often, the listing agent and the seller have talked about doing the short sale with each other…but not with the most important entity in the transaction, the bank or lender.

We write up an offer on the property (including the dreaded phrase “Purchase Agreement Subject To Bank Approval”). We spend a couple of days negotiating with the homeowner and come to an agreement on all terms. Usually, that makes it close to a done deal (only inspection, financing, escrow to worry about)… But in a short sale, that’s only the first step. After we have worked hard to get an offer the buyer and seller can agree on, it gets submitted to the bank. The bank will assign it to someone in their “Loss Mitigation Department”. Now, keep in mind that the Loss Mitigation Department is probably grossly understaffed due to the recent influx of short sales an foreclosures. Its now typical to wait and hear absolutely nothing for 30 to 60 days (so make your closing dates realistic…ie “within 30 days of final bank approval”). And now here is the really bad news…after waiting for maybe 6 weeks, the bank can come back and accept, reject, or counter your previously negotiated agreement. So you could have agreed to this offer on May 1st, not received a response until June 15th and then gotten a flat rejection from the bank or lender. Or you could get a counter offer (read ultimatum many times ) of maybe $20,000 more than the previous agreed upon offer. Not to say we haven’t had short sale transactions accepted by the bank or lender within 30 days of submission with the agreed upon terms, but that is not the norm.

Now, I don’t want to scare all of you off from pursuing homes that are attempting to do a short sale. Just make sure you are working with an agent that does their homework upfront to see if the listing agent and seller have already contacted the bank or lender. Make sure you arepersistent with getting info from the listing agent (thus prompting them to stay in contact with the Loss Mitigation Department of the lender). Also, ensure you are looking at other homes throughout this offer process. There’s a good chance your short sale offer will not be accepted, or will be countered. If this is the case, its good to have some backup homes in place so you don’t have to go through the entire homebuying process from the start again and waste valuable time.

That’s it for now. I’ll be posting shortly on What Every Seller Needs To Know About Short Sales. Until then, if you have any further questions about short sales or real estate in general, feel free to leave a comment or contact us.

Springwise points us to a new online marketplace with the descriptive name Home Equity Share matches home buyers with investors. To be exact: it brings together buyers who can afford monthly payments but not a 20% down payment, and investors who want to get into real estate but don’t want to become landlords or make monthly payments.

Potential home buyers post a profile listing their preferences, including the area they want to buy in, and the price range they’re looking for. [...]]]>

Springwise points us to a new online marketplace with the descriptive name Home Equity Share matches home buyers with investors. To be exact: it brings together buyers who can afford monthly payments but not a 20% down payment, and investors who want to get into real estate but don’t want to become landlords or make monthly payments.

Potential home buyers post a profile listing their preferences, including the area they want to buy in, and the price range they’re looking for. They’re automatically matched with compatible investors, come to an agreement and sign a preliminary commitment. This allows the buyer to become pre-approved for a loan, and to start looking for a property. Once buyer and investor agree on a property, the investor provides the down payment, the buyer arranges a mortgage for his home and moves in. At the end of a specified agreement term—usually three to seven years—the buyer can purchase the investor’s interest in the property, or they can sell the house and share its appreciation in value.

Home Equity Share provides the matching service and contracts at no cost to buyers and investors, but requires that they use a real estate agent who is registered with the company. Agents pay a referral fee of 20% of the commission earned on transactions referred by Home Equity Share.

Unlike P2P lending services we’ve written about in the past, such as Zopa and Prosper, Home Equity Share is targeting a very specific niche: real estate down payments. It matches the parties and provides them with contracts, but doesn’t facilitate the exchange of money. Other niche P2P lending matchmakers to follow?

It may sound hard to believe, but one part of the mortgage market is hot: reverse mortgages. That’s giving older homeowners more options to tap the equity in their homes but also opening the door to more confusion and mistakes.

Only a year ago, homeowners interested in reverse mortgages had little to choose from beyond the plain-vanilla government-backed products that have long dominated the market. Such mortgages essentially allow homeowners at least 62 years old to sell a large chunk of [...]]]>

It may sound hard to believe, but one part of the mortgage market is hot: reverse mortgages. That’s giving older homeowners more options to tap the equity in their homes but also opening the door to more confusion and mistakes.

Only a year ago, homeowners interested in reverse mortgages had little to choose from beyond the plain-vanilla government-backed products that have long dominated the market. Such mortgages essentially allow homeowners at least 62 years old to sell a large chunk of their home equity back to a bank or another lender in exchange for a lump sum, monthly payments or a line of credit.

Now, nearly a dozen large banks and mortgage lenders have launched reverse-mortgage products with lower fees and larger payouts. One lender has reduced the minimum age requirement to 60; others are making loans on second homes and vacation rentals. “Jumbo” reverse mortgages, for houses valued at as much as $10 million, are becoming more common.

With a reverse mortgage, instead of the borrower making payments to the lender, the lender makes a payment or payments to the borrower. The borrower keeps control of the house and doesn’t have to repay the money as long as he or she lives there. When the homeowner dies or moves out, the loan is typically paid off by selling the house, and any money left over goes to the homeowner or the homeowner’s estate.

A better life in retirement

The product is evolving from meeting basic needs to fulfilling the desires of a new generation of retirees, from funding a vacation getaway or recreational vehicle to renting a Paris pied-à-terre. The new options, though, mean more potential for confusion among consumers and a bigger chance that they could miss out on getting the best loans for their situations. MSN’s Full Story

In this – the season of tinseled trees, lavish lights, overloaded outlets, and candy scented candles – the American Red Cross offers us the gift of holiday home fire prevention tips to keep us all safe in this most festive time of year…

Christmas Tree Care

Preparation, mental toughness and negotiating strategy play key roles in the home purchase process, and as a home buyer you need to master them.

The L.A. Times offers us some tips to help:

Knowledge is power. Before making a purchase offer, learn as much as you can about your local housing market and the homeowner’s motivations for selling.

Ask questions about the sellers, such as why they’re selling, how long the home has been listed for sale, how soon the seller needs to sell, [...]]]>

Preparation, mental toughness and negotiating strategy play key roles in the home purchase process, and as a home buyer you need to master them.

The L.A. Times offers us some tips to help:

Knowledge is power.
Before making a purchase offer, learn as much as you can about your local housing market and the homeowner’s motivations for selling.

Ask questions about the sellers, such as why they’re selling, how long the home has been listed for sale, how soon the seller needs to sell, the mortgage balance, how much the seller paid and any defects in the home.

As the buyer, you’re in the driver’s seat, so obtain all the knowledge you can.

But at the same time, be careful to reveal as little as possible about your personal situation, such as your income, maximum down payment, highest price you’ll pay for a home and how soon you want to move.

And caution your agent not to reveal any confidential information to the seller or listing agent.

Ask if the seller has a deadline.
Time is critical in negotiations. Find out if the other party has a specific deadline. If the seller is under time pressure, use it to your advantage.

Usually buyer or seller or both have deadlines. If the local home sale market is hot, the competition of other buyers might push you to act quickly once you decide on a specific home. But don’t be rushed into a purchase.

Keep a poker face.
No matter how much you want a specific home, avoid showing your emotions. Pretend you can take it or leave it. Once the seller (and the seller’s agent) discover you absolutely must buy a home, you lose your negotiation edge.

Adopt the “he who cares least wins” attitude.
Closely related to hiding your emotions is adopting the “he who cares least wins” negotiation strategy.

Ask yourself, as a buyer, “What will happen if I don’t buy this home?” The world probably won’t end. Maybe you’ll find a home you like better at a lower price. But don’t be afraid to walk away. There’s always another home for sale.

Watch out for real estate “auctions.”
If you are buying a home, watch out if the realty agent says, “If you want to buy this house, you’d better make your purchase offer quickly because there’s another buyer interested in this house.”

Assuming there really is another interested buyer, this is a setup for a real estate “auction.” Often, there is no second buyer. If there is, don’t let him influence you when making a purchase offer.

Make your offer based on your superior knowledge of the local home prices and the seller’s motivations for selling. If the other buyer gets the house, he probably overpaid for it.

Adopt a “win-win” attitude.
Buyers should avoid taking unfair advantage of the seller, even if the seller is facing a difficult situation, such as a pending foreclosure, divorce, unemployment or job transfer.

With a win-win attitude, the buyer offers a fair price that the seller can realistically accept. When you meet the other party and his or her realty agent, be sure to congratulate them on their successful negotiations.

What’s new in Puerto Vallarta condos? Want to see the latest San Diego high rise?

No longer do you have to wait for a national road show to get a feel for new developments around the world. Cliff Bowman, the Vancouver, B.C.-based marketing expert who has turned pre-selling condominium buildings into an industry art form, has taken his online condo idea to retail stores. His Urban and Resort Condo Centers offer consumers a menu of popular destinations and in-city projects while [...]]]>

What’s new in Puerto Vallarta condos? Want to see the latest San Diego high rise?

No longer do you have to wait for a national road show to get a feel for new developments around the world. Cliff Bowman, the Vancouver, B.C.-based marketing expert who has turned pre-selling condominium buildings into an industry art form, has taken his online condo idea to retail stores. His Urban and Resort Condo Centers offer consumers a menu of popular destinations and in-city projects while providing developers and builders a downtown sales presence for a fraction of the cost of finding and leasing their own building. Full Story