We are all aware of the $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers.  But now there are a couple new programs that will give you a tax credit for the life of your loan on top of the $8,000 the first year.  First off you must buy within Dakota County, the city of St Paul or the city of Minneapolis.  There are some income restrictions, but essentially what this program will do will take 20% of the interest you pay for the year and convert that into a tax credit, yes dollar for dollar.  What this means for the buyer is that you will be able to take home more money every week in your paycheck.  I have included some links to each program, so take a look and see if you are eligible then give me a call and I can direct you to a lender who is able to offer you this loan. 

Dakota County Info

Minneapolis and St Paul Info

St Paul Heroes Program- for those of you that are in public service including health care workers

Here is a quick scenario on how the program works:

Loan Amount - $175,000

(% interest rate of the loan)  - 5.5%

First Year Interest - $9,566

(times MCC credit rate) - 20%

Approximate Amount of
Mortgage Tax Credit
$1,913

Over the life of the loan you will save $35,878 in taxes!  Remember, you can still deduct the remaining 80% of the interest, property taxes and PMI (private mortgage insurance).    

June Skinny Video-  More good insight about our crazy twin cities real estate market.  Lots of good news check it out! 

There is a new website for all you urbanites looking to move into either Minneapolis or St Paul.  LIVEMSP.ORG is your one stop shop for buying in the city.  It has wonderful information regarding the home buying process along with detailed neighborhood information.  This is an informative website for the relocating buyer or for the novice twin citian.  You can also follow them on Twitter.  I thought I’d make a list of my favorite places in Minneapolis and St Paul.  I enjoy both cities equally and think they each have unique qualities and do not have a favorite! 

Minneapolis-

Lake Harriet/Lake Calhoun- between the two I think Lake Calhoun is better people watching.

Isles Bun and Coffee Shop- 1424 West 28th Street, my mouth is watering just thinking of the Puppy Dog Tails.  On a nice day don’t be put off by the line out the door, it is well worth the wait. 

Nokomis Beach Coffee- 4956 28TH Ave S, not just coffee, but ice cream, wonderful pastries and waffles.

Fat Lorenzos- 5600 Cedar Ave S- my husbands favorite, your neighborhood pizza joint.

Town Talk Diner- 2707 E Lake St- they serve Pabst Blue Ribbon in the can and have cheese curds, do I need to say more? 

Midtown Global Market- Lake St and 10th Ave S- shopping and food, something for everyone.

Bar Abeline- 1300 Lagoon Ave S- Wonderful mojitos and table side guacamole

St Paul-

St Paul Farmers Market- 290 E 5th St- locally grown, they also have meat, eggs and cheese.

The Nook- 429 Hamline Ave S- juicy nookie burger, be careful of the hot cheese that may squirt out.

J & S Bean Factory- 1518 Randolph Ave- good freshly roasted coffee with a great atmosphere, many blog posts done here

Alexander Ramsey House- 265 S Exchange St- first governor home, be a tourist in your own backyard

Mad Hatter Coffee Cafe and Tea Shop- 945 W 7th St- truly local, tell Fran I sent ya!

MN State Fair- 12 best days of summer- August 27- September 7th, mark your calendars. 

Skinners Pub and Eatery- 919 Randolph Ave- best Reuben pizza, if it isn’t on the menu just ask.

Both a Minneapolis and St Paul favorite by many-The Minnesota Twins!

New weekly statistics are out as of Tuesday May26th from Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®.  Quoting Mark Allen, more good news:

Inventory is being sold through at a rate that is still flying high above last year’s numbers. Breaking the 1,200 pending sales threshold for the first time in three years, the 1,235 pending sales occurring during the most recent reporting week is up 36.9 percent over the same week last year. While many of these sales are lender-mediated properties, the increase in sales is welcome news regardless.

The decline in new listings, coupled with increased pending sales, has resulted in active listings supply dropping significantly. A year-over-year comparison of active listings from last May reveals a drop of 20.5 percent, bringing our Supply-Demand Ratio down to a healthy 5.23 houses for sale per buyer.

The rebalancing is beginning but the journey back will be slow. It appears that enough houses will soon be off the market, thus creating a rebalancing of the buyer-seller mix and a reversal in price trends.

Here is the full weekly statistical report. 

Per Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®:

April home sales in the Twin Cities were even stronger than March’s
upswing. There were 5,211 pending sales in April, up 23.8 percent
from last April. This is the highest showing of signed purchase
agreements in April since 2005 and the tenth consecutive month of
year-over-year increases. Among the month’s pending sales, 46
percent were lender-mediated.
Supply continues to experience sluggish growth. There are currently
26,410 homes for sale in the Twin Cities, up 416 units from last
month and down 18.4 percent from this time last year. The Supply-
Demand ratio sits at 5.23 for May—down 28.6 percent from this
time last year.
The median sales price for all properties in April of $153,000 is
down 25.2 percent from a year ago. While this figure is
mathematically correct, it is conceptually flawed. Since a higher
share of sales this April were lender-mediated than last April, the
number is skewed downward. The median April sales price of
traditional homes was $205,000, down 8.5 percent from a year ago.
Lender-mediated homes posted an April figure of $120,000, down
21.5 percent from a year ago.

Here are the complete April statistics.  May could be even hotter, and not just temperature wise, with more foreclosures coming on the market.  Multiple offers are becoming common place, so buyers if you see something you like don’t wait to long or you may be competing with other buyers.  Stay tuned for some good first time homebuyer programs in Dakota County.  

Thanks to Mark Allen, CEO of Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®, for providing us these valuable and positive statistics and for all the little humor thrown in.  

It’s becoming a wild and active spring for the Twin Cities housing market. First, pending sales ought to give REALTORS® some joy in their Easter baskets, with 1,004 reported for the week ending April 4—a 28.7 percent increase over last year and the best single week since May 2007. New listings went skyward compared to last week with 2,055 for the week ending April 4, but they remain 11.2 percent behind the same week a year ago.

The recent jump in sales is bringing the supply of available homes down even further. There are currently 26,085 homes on the market in the region—17.5 percent below this time last year and good for 7.7 months of supply.

Finally, like Warren Robinett in Adventure, this week’s WMAR has its own Easter egg tucked away. The Housing Affordability Index for April has grown to 218, which means the median family income is 218 percent of what’s necessary to qualify for the median priced home. For those of you scoring at home, that’s a 40.8 percent increase over where we stood last year at this time and is 77.3 percent over our low point of 123 in July 2006. We have to bear in mind that increased lender-mediated activity makes that number supernaturally high.

All in all, dropping prices, low mortgage rates and government incentive programs for home buyers are making this a spring to remember.

MAAR Weekly Market Activity Report- click for detailed report!!!!

MAAR March Statistics- more good news! Per Mark Allen, Compared to a year ago, there are more buyers out there and they have less to choose from. But sellers still face a tough road that requires smart pricing and marketing.  I couldn’t have said it better myself, thanks Mark. 

By my guesstimate 90% of the current buyers are using FHA financing, they only need a 3.5% down payment and the rates are great.  What does this mean for you townhouse/condo sellers?  You need to be FHA approved.  But no worries if you aren’t it can be done, with not much work. 

1.  Are you legally a condo or not?  Check your legal description, if you are categorized as a condominium or has CIC in the legal description you are legally a condo.  Beware, you may look like a townhouse but are legally a condo.  If you are a townhouse no need to go any further, you can accept an FHA buyer.  If you are a condo move on to step 2.

2.  Check the HUD website and search to see if your development is listed as already FHA approved.  I would search by zip code, then look for your development.  If you don’t see it, call your management company they may know.  If you are not FHA approved move on to Step 3.

3.  Start the FHA approval process, this may require assistance from your board.  My husband and I did this for our own association and once we sent in all the paperwork we were approved in 2-3 weeks!  Yes there is a little work involved but nothing painful.

Have any questions give me a call.  Remember though if your development is not FHA approved your buyer will need to have 10-20% down payment for conventional financing or pay cash.  You potentially are missing out on about 90% of the buyers and your values will suffer.

Per Mark Allen from Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®,

Has everyone remembered to “spring” forward?  It looks like the Twin Cities Housing Market certainly has, as the new season has brought in an uptick in sales along with the warm weather.  The market can only hope that “spring” fever is more than just a figure of speech.

Speaking of pending sales, while they have tapered off during the week ending March 14, there is no denying that since the new year began pending sales have steadily outperformed last year’s numbers.  In fact, even with almost no increase in pending sales activity the 870 pending sales for the week are still 14.9 percent higher than last March at this time.

Total active listings are another story.  While new listings for this period are only 13.9 percent lower than last year, active listings are down nearly 14.7 percent.  This can be looked at in a positive light however if you consider the combination of pending sales, decreasing inventory, and higher HAI (Housing Affordability Index) are all helping to get more people into homes throughout the new spring season.  This coupled with the federal government’s tax credit efforts could give the Twin Cities housing market the added boost it needs to awaken and to realize the potential that is out there.

There are many other events that coincide with spring:  spring training, spring fever, spring boards…ok that last one isn’t technically associated with the season.  But with the Month’s Supply of Inventory for March down 15.2 percent over last year, agents across the Twin Cities can assist buyers in diving right into the market now that conditions are beginning to warm.

What I have noticed in the market is when setting up showings for my buyers many homes are already sold and some are even selling in multiple offers!  For all you stat lovers, click here for the full weekly report. 

The President just signed the new stimulus package, officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  In addition to raising FHA loan limits the first time homebuyer credit changed for the better.  If you purchase a home between January 1, 2009 thru December 1, 2009 you will receive an $8,000 tax credit.  In contrast to the previous $7,500, this credit does not have to be paid back as long as you live in the home for 3 years.  An estimated 300,000 new homeowners will enter the market according to a CNNMoney.com article.  I honestly think this number will be much higher.  So what does this mean for sellers?  Buyers are flooding the market and have already started buying homes.  If your home is priced in the first time homebuyer price range (approximately $250,000) buyers will buy your home.  But remember our first time homebuyer’s are savvy and educated.  They have a lot to choose from and can be picky.  So get that home in move in condition, price it correctly and watch it move.

Condition and price are two important factors in selling your home.  In today’s market, staged homes that are priced correctly are selling, yes I said selling.  Not many people have houses that are show ready.  Your Realtor will give you a to-do list of items to get done before your home is put on the market.  If your home is in good condition and staged, it will get you the most money and sell in the least amount of time.  Sometimes all it takes is a a couple weekends and a lot of elbow grease.  I’m going to devote this blog to exterior and will discuss interior at a later date.  First, cut your grass/shovel your walk way.  Your exterior is a buyers first impression of your home.  If the outside isn’t kept up buyers assume that the inside is in the same disarray.  Secondly make sure that your house doesn’t have peeling paint, rotted window sill or curling shingle on the roof.  Thirdly spend some money on some landscaping.  Perennials go a long way and can often be split for more plants.  Replace mulch if needed.  Lastly the front door should be inviting, no peeling paint, outdated door or missing handles or locks.  Locks may need a little WD-40 so they work easily.  All this will set the stage for a successful showing.