It is Friday and the trees are blooming

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. It will likely rain for most of the weekend which is a good thing. We need the rain, much of the state is experiencing some flavor of drought.  Spring is a short season here in the bold cold north. The trees have started blooming and will bloom for about a week before the petals all fall off.

The crabapple blossoms look the same each year. They are fun to photograph but with the wind and rain this year it is easier to use pictures from prior years. Apple and other fruit trees are also blooming, as are the magnolia trees. If you see bushes that are loaded with yellow flowers they are Forsythia plants.

 

crabapple blossom
crabapple blossom

On this day in April 2023

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

I took these pictures April 25, 2023. There isn’t any flooding this year but there is more water in the river than there was last fall which is a good thing.

Sometimes we take the Mississippi River for granted but we shouldn’t because we depend upon it for water and for shipping.

The world’s fresh water supply is decreasing at an alarming rate due to human consumption and natural causes.

Unless water use is drastically reduced, severe water shortage will affect the entire planet by 2040.

“There will be no water by 2040 if we keep doing what we’re doing today”.

– Professor Benjamin Sovacool, Aarhus University, Denmark.

 

Mississippi River at St. Paul, MN
Mississippi River at St. Paul, MN April 25, 2024
Mississippi River at St. Paul, MN
Mississippi River at St. Paul, MN April 25, 2024

 

Higher mortgage rates results in fewer home sales

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

According to the National Association of Realtors:

“Single-family home sales declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.8 million in March, down 4.3% from 3.97 million in February and 2.8% from the prior year. The median existing single-family home price was $397,200 in March, up 4.7% from March 2023.

At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 390,000 units in March, existing condominium and co-op sales decreased 4.9% from last month and 11.4% from one year ago (440,000 units). The median existing condo price was $357,400 in March, up 5.8% from the previous year ($337,900).”

This year waiting until spring to sell a house may not have been the wisest choice. So much for hind site. When rates go down prices will go up due to the pent up demand from home buyers who did not want to pay the higher mortgage interest rates.

The best time to sell in 2024 may have already passed. Keep an eye on the interest rates.

Which generation bought the most homes in 2022-2023?

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

I am not surprised that Millennials bought more homes than baby boomers between 2022 and 2023.  According to the National Association of Realtors: Millennial buyers aged 25 to 33 years (younger millennials) and buyers aged 34 to 43 years (older millennials) make up the largest share of home buyers at 38%; older millennials at 21%, and younger millennials at 17% of the share of home buyers.

Here is a break down from the National Association of Realtors. Baby boomers sold more real estate than they bought as did the silent generation. People in the silent generation are 78 to 96 years old.

 

Home buyers and sellers by generation
Hone buyers and sellers by generation
  • Baby boomers make up the largest share of sellers at 45%.
  • Sellers aged 69 to 77 years were most likely to downsize their home.

Earth day 2024

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Today is Earth Day and it looks like we are still here on earth. Part of Earth Day 2024 is advocating for a 60% reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040, in recognition that plastics pose a danger to humans and the natural environment, as well as the future of the climate.

There is a lot of trash in the woods. Plastics are the most common but there is a lot of aluminum, glass and some fabric too.

As it gets warmer out and we spend more time outside there are numerous opportunities to pick up trash and there is plenty to pick and it is always nice to tidy up a bit. People are such pigs.

 

Earth day