Month: December 2010

Absorption Rates

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
papertowels
 

I have not posted absorption rates for metro area housing since last September.  Am I bad?  In September I needed a wet dry vac to absorb the excess inventory but I think this time around some paper towels will do the job.

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 homes sales and with the current number of homes on the market.  I do love numbers and these numbers are in months, the data used came from the RMLS, (MLS) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Sadly there are no guarantees in life.

These are for the seven county metro area, which is like the 13 county metro area except smaller.

Anoka County 8.7  Months
Carver County 7.9 Months
Dakota County 8.1 Months
Hennepin County 9.1 Months
Ramsey County 8.5 Months
Scott County 10 Months
Washington County 9.5 Months

In the past absorption rates have been higher in December than they are in September not the case this time around, they have gone down which means that it should take less time to sell a home now than it did a few months ago and for buyers it means fewer choices but it is still very much a buyers market.

For more local housing market numbers and pictures of cotton swabs, wet/dry vacs and even diapers please see Local market conditions and home prices.

1 Comment

#Snowpocalypse 2010

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
letitsnow wm
Mears Park – Downtown St. Paul

It has been snowing since midnight and it looks like this storm is going to be even bigger than #snowmageddon09 which really was over hyped as a storm.   I recall it dropped about a half foot of snow.  Some are calling this storm #snowmygod but I like #snowpocalypse as the national weather service is still predicting 12 to 16 inches in the Twin Cities.  I am thankful that it is Saturday. 

frosts wm
W.A. Frosts on Selby Avenue
 
3 Comments

Photography for Realtors

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun.  I usually don’t write educational

point and shoot camera
 

type posts on Fridays but that is what I am going to do today.

I have spent a lot of time this week looking for homes for buyers that I am working with.  I just can’t help but notice that the property photos in the MLS are pretty bad. 

I find photos of room parts, open toilets, crooked rooms, poorly lit rooms, open toilets, did I mention open toilets?  bathroom mirrors and windows with bright lights in them and to be honest with some of the photos I can’t really tell what they are of but I try. 

You may have noticed from my blog that I like to take photos.  Maybe I love taking them and I know my way around a camera and if I try I can take a photo of an entire room and if there is a toilet in the room I put the seat down before taking the picture instead of after. (I think Realtors were taught to put the seat down after)  I decided to write some instructions for my peers in an effort to help them with their property photos. .

The following items are needed and my instructions should be followed to the letter.  You will need:  A camera, a towel, a table or sturdy flat surface a hammer, a phone and a room that needs to be photographed.

  • Remove camera from case
  • Remove battery from camera and put it in your pocket.
  • Place towel on flat surface
  • Place camera on top of towel
  • Fold towel over camera until it is completely covered. (Not the towel the camera)
  • Pick up the hammer and hit the camera at least 10 times. When the camera is flat you have hit it enough times.
  • Use the phone to call a photogrpaher
  • Carefully pick up the towel and keep it folded and toss it in the trash. (this part may take some practice)
  • Take the battery to a recycling center.

If these steps are followed I promise that the end result will be better property photos.

22 Comments

Minnesota Snowman

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
 Minnesota snowman
Minnesota Snowman’s Nephew

This is Minnesota Snowman’s Nephew he is in Cherokee Park. Minnesota Snowman can be found at an undisclosed location and on twitter @MN_Snowman.  He comes out to play this time of year and spends the summer months in a freezer.  He has many relatives in these parts and when I see them I take a photo because he doesn’t have a camera and apparently snow people don’t get photographs of friends and relatives in the usual way through Facebook. 

2 Comments

Fire Hydrants, adopt one today

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Adopt a fire hydrant today.  They make excellent pets because you don’t have to feed them or walk them.  Fire hydrants get buried in the snow and that makes it harder for the wonderful folks at the St. Paul fire department to hook up a hose so they can put out fires.  It will be your job to clear the snow around the fire hydrant that you adopt.  In addition you can put a hat on it and name it Sam. 

4 Comments