I got this shot yesterday at Lake Phalen. I know the ducks are way out there and to be honest I think they were geese, but I didn't have to mention that because no one would know the difference . . except me.

I am only going to write this once and who knows maybe the program will be expanded but time is running out on the 8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers. A  tax credit of that magnitude is worth taking advantage of for those who are in a position to buy a home. People who have jobs, and some money saved up and an income that is large enough so that they can afford a house.

Some of my clients have bought homes and are taking advantage of it.  Timing is always a problem and there are people who bought homes last year that didn't get the credit and people who will buy homes next year that won't get it either. If you think you might want to take advantage of it talk to your lender today. He or she will help you get your ducks in a row. 

by Erik Hare

The end of August is the end of summer.  If you don’t live in Minnesota, that may not sound all that serious – especially if the kids are already back in school.  But for us, it’s a dire warning, a call to … well, mostly inaction.

 This is the week of the State Fair, an event that you are either at or you aren’t.  Conversations usually start with, “Been to the Fair yet?” and either end when you confess you haven’t or sometime after a long recount of what you saw.  The cows, the Old Mill ride, and of course the food – it’s important to retell it all in sweaty greasy details as if remembering a major event in your life. 

 The slow days of summer end with a grinding halt that finds the aisles between the cubicles empty except for the stories of cows on the hoof and compressed into Pronto Pups.  It may have been just yesterday, but the tales are already filled with a bit of longing.

 The kids aren’t in school until after Labor Day by state law.  That may sound strange to people elsewhere, but this has always been a farming state where the kids are not just the hope of tomorrow, they’re also a source of cheap labor.  As we transformed into a state where farming isn’t what most people do, the State Fair stepped up to fill the void and we still aren’t having anything like school until after the last fireworks display at the fairgrounds.  The law doesn’t tell us that we have to enjoy the last daze of summer, but people make a point of it anyway.

 For those of us who haven’t been to the fair yet, it doesn’t matter.  The temperature last night fell to 45 degrees Fahrenheit, a slap across the face of the last celebration.  Saint Paul is known as a quiet town to start with, but weather like this empties the place out like nothing else.  There’s gotta be something better to do like … nothing, perhaps?  It’s the last chance to do nothing and not feel guilty.

 No matter how we celebrate the last weekend of August, at the fair or not, we know it’s winding down.  Time to pack in all the things we didn’t do before the kids really get whiny about going back to school.  Our state government put that date off about as long as they could, so let’s give them a little credit for making today just what it is.  Nothing.  Next weekend is Labor Day, and whether it is full of the crowds of the fair or just a quiet weekend at home with the grill, it's the last shot.

The Travelers Insurance building in downtown St. Paul . . I remember when it was St. Paul Companies. Most of the photos I take around town are of the historic buildings, but every now and then my camera finds something new to shoot. In the photo on the bottom you can see the church steeples from the Assumption church, which is a good thing because the title for this post makes more sense that way.

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun.  This post is kind of a re-run from February 2007.  My friend Todd has not been reading my blog and as a result he cut himself.  I wrote the post before he was kind of a big deal and am sure he had time to read it.   I want to remind everyone that by reading the StPaulRealEstateBlog you can avoid injury.

I went to Best Buy on a mission to buy a micro SD card for my BlackBerry Pearl.  The card is incredibly small and yet it holds a gigabyte of data.   The card has to be put in a package so that it doesn't get lost and so that it can be hung on one of those little pegs, at least that is my theory. (Two years later, new blackberry, same card)

Here is where I have to be careful, one of my clients is a packaging engineer.  That's right smart people with advanced degrees design packaging.   The type of packaging I am talking about is made out of thick  plastic, and is called a clam shell.  (I have a different name for it but as I have said many times this is a 'G" rated family type blog.  The two pieces of plastic that make up the shell are sealed together around the edges with a seam that can not be opened or pulled apart and the small card is sealed inside.  It can not be placed in my tiny phone unless it is removed from the packaging.

I can see the card but it is not possible to actually remove it from the packaging with out some serious effort.  I used to try removing the packaging with sheers, box cutters, knives and some times all three.  I was occasionally able to remove the packaging with out blood loss or with out destroying the item inside. Sometimes the packages make me cry.

I discovered the solution to this problem a couple of years ago, after purchasing an item in an electronics  store with indestructible packaging.  After my purchase I looked at the package and decided that I was no match for it.  I reasoned that the package is not my problem, I just want the item inside.  I must have been feeling cranky that day and so I took it to the customer service desk and asked them to remove the item from the package.  I explained that I don't know how, and that my purchase was useless locked away in that plastic clam shell.  They opened it for me.  I have used the same  strategy at Best Buy, Target, K-Mart, Circuit City, Comp USA and Office Max. 

There is always someone in the store with the tools and talent required to remove the cleverly engineered packaging that is intentionally designed to drive most people nuts and to make me cry.  Yesterday the young man at the cash register liberated my SD card using scissors while he waited on the next customer.  If he worked for me I would have given him a raise for being so polite and quick and actually helping a customer.

Part of the reason that I sell homes instead of working at Best Buy is because houses do not come in calm shells that I have to remove for my clients.  Customer service is a huge part of my job.  I think that is why I expect excellent service when it is my turn to be the customer.

** I have seen Todd iron, he is really very good at it. **

In honor of the Minnesota State fair I put the absorption rates for home sales for the seven county metro area, which is like the thirteen county metro area but smaller, on a stick.

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. Maybe an implied warranty but what do I know? I am a Realtor not an attorney.

Last month they were slightly lower than they are this month.  One months data isn't enough to be  a trend, so I will take another look in about 30 days and see where we are at.

Also see Local Market Conditions and Home Prices.

Take a drive down Selby Avenue some time.  Stop and eat or drink it helps the local economy.  The store fronts are beautiful not to mention buildings like Blair arcade. The Chef in front of La Grolla Italian restaurant appeared recently or at least I think it did. 

by G. Sax (@gsax)

I went to Kansas City this past weekend to follow the Minnesota Twins baseball team for their series against the Kansas City Royals at the refurbished Kauffman Stadium. The Twins have been disappointing this year, but I'm a loyalist (as opposed to a Royalist, hyuck, hyuck). I grounded the team for a week when they blew the 10-2 lead against the Oakland A's, but other than that, I watch most games.

As I write this, the Twins are on their first 5-game winning streak of the season. A streak that started in Kansas City while I was there. Yes, I have everything to do with this, in case you were wondering.

As troubling as the Twins have been this season, the Saturday game had 33,811 in attendance. For comparison, the Sunday afternoon game had 16,680. That's because half the folks from the night before were driving north.

Baseball parks these days are like festive temples, so they rule the roost for stadium-related travel, but enthusiasm is particularly strong for our football franchise this season as well. We've had 24/7 coverage of one man for the last few months. When Brett Favre arrived, travel and ticket prices went up, even for his appearance in St. Louis.

Sports is trippy for the uninitiated. I know many who don't know a lick about Jose Mijares, Ricky Rubio, Percy Harvin, or Josh Harding. I could recite their latest headlines.

News outlets cater to my fix. If someone paints a #4 on the side of a goat, it leads the late local news. If the grass  on the Twins' new ballpark, Target Field, is harvested from Colorado, horticulture enthusiasts come out of their homegrown woodwork to discuss the "controversial" story.

Our local sports teams in Minnesota frustrate us with their small-marketness, but we root, root, root for their pluck and determination. Just as some could care less, others have dedicated complete wings of their homes to their teams—huge TVs in the living room for HD viewing of the individual bristles on Favre's gray beard; garages dedicated to manimal logos of the Minnesota Wild; childrens' rooms decked in baseball memorabilia signed by Morneau, Hrbek, Carew, and Killebrew; a Fathead sticker of Adrian Peterson in the hallway.

It's not so easy to set these shrines up in a rental. The most dedicated fans need to be allowed to go all out. Paint the walls purple! Build a T-Wolves parquet floor in the basement!

And why do I choose to live in Saint Paul? Proximity to Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild, and proximity to Midway Stadium, home of the Saint Paul Saints. Duh.

P.S. – Thanks, Kansas City. Your town was great. The Twins needed the wins. Loved the outfield water.