It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. Next week I will be doing some traveling so next Friday may even be more fun than today.

Last weekend I met a brilliant Toddler in the park.  I walked by her bench carrying a tripod with a camera on it and had my camera bag on my shoulder.  She looked at me, pointed and siad "you are taking pictures".  This child is light years ahead of the adults that I meet in my travels around town. Sometimes I will be deep in concentration taking a photo for this blog or the outside of one of the homes I list and someone will walk by as I am getting ready to shoot and say: "Are you taking pictures?". It happens all the time.

If you see me with a camera on a tripod and I am looking into the view finder and my hands are on the camera it is alright to take that leap of logic and conclude that I am taking photos.  You don't have to ask. 

This on was built in the 1920's. Located on Juliet Avenue in the MacGroveland neighborhood and it is for sale. I remember when the current owner bought it. We looked at so many homes before she found this one. I have to say I enjoyed taking the photos. 

What is a Tudor you ask?  The architecture is based on the medieval Tudor period in Europe. Some time between the late 1400's through to the 1600's.  Some of the features include rounded door ways and a rounded fireplace with a window on either side of it. The roofs have steep peaks like the roof of this home and it has the wonderful half timber kind of trim pieces on it. I have worked with buyers who are only interested in buying a Tudor and I have to say I really enjoy looking at them myself.  One of the best parts of my job is getting to look at so many classic and historic homes in St. Paul. 

by G. Sax

A meal out of the house. Two-for-one dinner at a favorite St. Paul haunt courtesy of the St. Paul Saints (economy tip: always check the back of your ticket stubs). I'm a tourist in my own town, so I thought I'd take the camera out and pretend to be T. Boardman. I don't pretend to give my photos the same spice, but I do enjoy trying to find the right *click* worth keeping. My wife says 6 is her lucky number, so 6 it is.

1) Arundel and Front. The nostalgic corner looks over Front Recreation Center. Rec centers are a St. Paul staple. Growing up, Front was just as much my team as the Vikings. And rec centers like Orchard, Sylvan, and North Dale were division rivals akin to the Bears, Packers, and Lions. Rec centers are struggling these days, but if they close Front, it will be a mistake. The skateboard kids and weightlifters have a great thing going. We can't all bask in the shine of North Dale or any number of suburban community centers, nor do we really want to. All we need is a backstop and a swing set.

2) Pig's Eye. That's what we called water caps and sidewalk engravings on our way home from school. If you stepped on one, tagged your friend, and said "Pig's Eye!" then your friend was "it." Pig's Eye is what St. Paul was, and I'm sure we got the game phrase from something we used to step on.

3) Tiger Jack's Shack. It's been many years since he stood outside waving at passerby and selling hickory chips. St. Paul benefits by the sparkle of such personalities, living and gone.

4) Victoria Crossing. The dragon presides over preppy outings, Sunday brunches, biker toughs, and high-heeled boys at the intersection of Victoria and Grand. I like how the clouds compliment the dragon's vibe.

 

5) Groveland Tap. Destination: delicious.

 

6) Summit Tappers. We're lucky to have such a great local brewery in our city. Other great craft beers are starting to sprout up around town, and they all owe Summit for showing the locals that there is life after Hamm's, Schmidt, and Stroh's.

Absorption rates are a  calculation of how long it will take for all the homes on the market to be sold, or absorbed, at the current rate of sales.

I do love numbers, and these are in months, the data used came from the RMLS, (MLS) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.  It doesn't come with a warranty either.

Absorption rates for the seven county metro area have changed slightly from last month but not much. The downward trend continues. Our inventory of homes for sale is being absorbed by buyers a little more quickly this month than last month.  The inventory of homes on the market continues to decline, there are 1676 homes on the market in St. Paul and that includes townhouses and condos but does not include rental property.  The hottest price range is 100K or less.

Since nothing much has changed in the past 30 days I thought I would do a kind of close up snap shot of the very local market here in St. Paul.

Here are some absorption rates, in months.

Overall for St. Paul  3.8 Months

St. Paul homes listed for less than 100K  2.2  Months

Homes listed for 400 to 500K 5.1 Months.

Townhouses 5.8 Months

Condos 10.2 Months – wow!

Duplexes and rental properties 5 Months – also seeing low inventories

Yes the calulator in the photo really is mine and I am not afraid to use it.

It is still a buyers market but there are still homes that sell very quickly and homes that get multiple offers.  It has always been that way.

Today's buyer is looking for a bargain but I have to say homes sales are still negotiated.  negotiating is about give and take and back and forth. Often neither buyers or sellers are in a position to dictate the terms. Both buyers and sellers need to keep in mind that they are party on the other side of the transaction is a person . . unless it is a bank then who cares. 

Buyers won't always get what they want, neither will the sellers. Buyers need to understand that it is possible to tick the sellers off and sometimes sellers do not have an unlimited amount of money and as amazing as it may seem sometimes sellers have more than one interested buyer.

Negotiating is about back and forth, give and take.  Negotiations can break sown even in  a buyers market if the buyer makes too many demands. I am seeing some interesting negotiating strategies where buyers simply ask for more and more until the sellers say forget it, I'll sell my house to someone else.Maybe your agent is telling you to ask for anything you want  . . .  that isn't negotiating.

by Erik Hare

Garrison Keillor once said that “If New York is the city that never sleeps, Saint Paul is the city where we get a good night’s rest and awake refreshed.”  Like most good gags about Saint Paul there’s a bit of truth in this once, but it’s not the whole story.  We may not have an all night party goin’ on, but there are a few places that can satisfy a craving at 3AM – and that’s what really matters.

The most famous of these is Mickey’s Diner, the center of a rich life at any time of the day.  Mickey’s actually has two locations, both on West Seventh Street.  Either one is a place where you can get a good conversation with a complete stranger along with your meal, a person that might look as interesting as you do when just about everyone should be asleep.  Whoever you meet, you’ll be sure that you share at least one habit or affliction, which is something.  Both serve diner style food that includes a good hearty breakfast or a quick burger and fries.

If you want fast food, there are at least two 24 hr places.  The Hardees at Hamline and I-94 is open all night, as is the McDonald’s at Snelling and University.  The ambience isn’t as fun, but the food is just what you’d expect any other time of the day.

Bars aren’t allowed to stay open past 1AM by state law, or 2AM if they have the extended hours permit.  That means that 1AM to 3AM is the time you’ll find these places busiest when everything else is closed, but the crowds aren’t as fun.  After about 3AM it settles down into the real night crew of people that just don’t like to sleep at night. 

If you find you’re up far too late to be reasonable, the least you can do try to make an event of it.  Hanging out at Mickey’s may seem like a poor substitute for a good night’s sleep, but if you’re awake because you have far too much work to do it can make for a good break.  Saint Paul may not be a city that never sleeps, but parts of it keep one eye open just in case you come in looking for a little something.  They’ll be there for you.

Staycations are fine but some times it is nice to get away and see something new. Sillwater, MN is not far away, and they are having their annual lumberjack days festival.  

You have to love Stillwater, and not just becasue they have the nicest looking police cars in the state.

They have some other interesting vehicles too