Your downtown condo will sell

Posted on August 17, 2022August 16, 2022by Teresa Boardman

Things are a little slower in downtown St. Paul than they are in the rest of the city:

Median days on market in St. Paul = 35 Average days on market = 38

Downtown St. Paul condos:

Median days on market = 59 average days on market = 82

There is a 4.2-month supply of downtown condos vs. a 1.3-month supply of homes for sale in St. Paul.

There is a 2.6-month supply of condos on the market in all of St. Paul and they sell in about 44 days.

Downtown St. Paul is still experiencing a seller’s market. Overall the downtown market tends to be more stable and it changes more slowly.

There is more housing than ever downtown and more than 10,000 residents. There are fewer businesses. I don’t have any number but I can see the vacant storefronts as I walk through the skyway.

The popcorn wagon is vacant and for sale. I am tempted. I would move it down to the river or maybe it could go near one of the many microbreweries in my neighborhood and I could sell popcorn.

There are fewer protections for cash buyers

Posted on August 16, 2022August 15, 2022by Teresa Boardman

Paying cash for a house makes the whole process faster, easier, and less expensive. Partly because there are fewer protections. An appraisal is not required and neither is any kind of an inspection. To be eligible for most types of financing a house has to be “livable”.

Mortgage lenders protect themselves and by extension the home buyer.

Having a complete home inspection is important. Cash buyers rarely have the property appraised but they could.

The financing addendum will usually give buyers an out if they can not get the loan to pay for the house. They get their earnest money returned. Cash buyers may end up having to forfeit their earnest money if something goes wrong and they can not close.

Cash buyers should make sure there is a title company involved in the purchase and buy title insurance. Working with an experienced real estate agent is recommended.

All cash sales are becoming more common and account for at least 25% of purchases.

Local Market Conditions & home prices

Mid-August real estate market

Posted on August 15, 2022August 12, 2022by Teresa Boardman

The local housing market has slowed up a bit. In the last two weeks, we were able to negotiate lower prices for our buyers on inspection contingent offers. Back a decade or so ago most offers on homes for sale were lower than the asking price. In the last five years, or so buyers who offered less than the asking price rarely got a shot at buying the house. Sellers did not need to negotiate because they had multiple offers or they could even wait a day or two for a higher offer.

Right now there are houses that have been on the market for a while. Some of them had gotten offers but for whatever reason, the buyers backed out. Now is the time to buy those houses and for buyers to negotiate more favorable terms. We are still experiencing a strong seller’s market but it is a little less ridiculous than it was a month or two ago.

Newer real estate agents might not be used to negotiating. That is something I use to my advantage.

We are also seeing more cash buyers and right now in St. Paul people who own single-family houses that they have been renting out are selling due to the stringent rent control laws. Many of these houses will go back to being owner-occupied, which will be an opportunity for some, while at the same time reducing the number of houses for rent which will cause rents to go up.

First Time Home Buyers

A wild and crazy election week

Posted on August 12, 2022August 12, 2022by Teresa Boardman

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. On Tuesday there was a primary election and I am an election judge in Ramsey county. That means I get to the polling place at 5:30 in the morning and stay until sometime between 8:30 PM and 9:00 PM.

I get to see my neighbors. I know every street in the precinct, which comes in handy because I know right away when someone is in the wrong place. Generally where people vote is close to home. We had a few Hennepin county voters and some folks who were in the right county but were miles away from their precinct.

Voting usually puts a smile on people’s faces. People who were born in 2004 are now old enough to vote if they turn 18 by election day.

In Minnesota, people can register at the polls. My job was to help them register, which is the best job there is for an election judge.

Elections are run on a local level. If you are looking for a good time and if you have the time to find out how you can sign up to be an election judge. If you need to register to vote you can find out how to do that before the next election which will be held on November 8, 2022.

There is a 1.3 month supply of housing in St. Paul

Posted on August 11, 2022August 7, 2022by Teresa Boardman

During a balanced housing market, there is a six-month supply of housing for sale. During a buyers market, the supply skews to

a supply that is greater than six months. During the housing crash which was a strong buyers market at times, there was a 10-month supply of housing on the market.

During a strong seller’s market, there is less than a six-month supply. Right now in St. Paul, there is a 1.3-month supply which indicates a strong seller’s market.

Some parts of the country might be experiencing a balanced market or even a seller’s market but that doesn’t impact the strong seller’s market in the Twin Cities.

During sellers, market houses sell quickly, and often they receive multiple offers. Look for prices to continue to rise this year due to the high demand for housing.

Housing supply is a measure of how long it would take to sell all of the houses that are on the market if buyers keep buying at the same rate.

Most of the news about the real estate market comes from the coasts and may not apply to our local market in the Twin Cities.

General

If someone sends an email do I have to respond?

Posted on August 10, 2022August 4, 2022by Teresa Boardman

Every day I get emails from people who want to write articles for this site or they want me to mention their business or add a link to an article or page.

Up until a couple of years ago, I answered the emails. Most of them end up in my spam folder but it isn’t unusual for the same person to send me several emails “following up”, or “circling back” or asking for a response in some other way. Yet I don’t respond.

As far as I know, I have never sent anyone an unwanted email and I have never sent an email and demanded a response.

I respond to the emails I get from people who want my help buying or selling real estate unless they are from a prince who is trying to get millions of dollars out of his country.

No, I do not have to respond to anyone and everyone who sends email. Part of the reason I have this site is so that people can find me or ignore me as they please.