Local Vs. National numbers

Posted on August 14, 2019August 14, 2019by Teresa Boardman

Home sales were down in June of 2019 from June 2018 nationwide but by how much varies by location. In the Metro area, year over year home sales were down by 2% and were down by 4.5% in St. Paul. Nationally home sales were down 2.2% in June of 2019 from June 2018.

Locally the inventory of homes on the market has been pretty steady at about a two month supply while nationally there is a 4.4% supply. The numbers may seem small but when I work with home buyers I can actually feel the difference between a 2 month supply of houses and a 4 month supply. In a balanced housing market, there is a six month supply of housing. We remain in a strong seller’s market.

If you are planning to buy or sell real estate this year the local numbers are the ones to watch.

There are still more home buyers than home sellers. I think the trend will gradually ease up over the next decade or so as older generations reach their peak home selling years. Some experts are predicting a great real estate sell-off as baby boomers age. I think a gradual sell-off is more likely considering the 19 years age range of baby boomers.

Here is an infographic with the national existing home sale data for June 2019.

Home Improvement

Get the house ready to be inspected

Posted on August 13, 2019August 12, 2019by Teresa Boardman

Here are a few simple things homeowners can do to head off common issues found during inspections conducted by buyers inspectors.

Remove any old parts the contractor left by the furnace or water heater. Leftover parts may confuse inspectors and buyers and can lead to all sorts of negative assumptions about the condition of furnace and water heater.
Make sure every light fixture in the house has a working light bulb in it. Inspectors may suggest a fixture isn’t working if the bulb is burned out.
If there is a fuse box remove any old and all-new extra fuses and put them away.
Clean the surfaces of the water heater and furnace.
Make sure all of the windows have screens on them.
Make sure all windows open and close.
Check under every sink and remove any buckets if there is no leak present.
Make sure all electrical outlets and light switches have covers.
If extension cords are being used due to lack of outlets disconnect and remove the extension cords.
Change the furnace filter.

Some of the items I am mentioning will just help to keep the list of items that need attention shorter which will leave a better impression on the buyer.

Some home inspectors don’t know what they are doing and others are excellent. There isn’t any licensure or even qualifications to be a home inspector in Minnesota. Over the years I have seen all sorts of crazy on home inspections. Sometimes home buyers kind of freak out and so do sellers when confronted with a list of repair requests.

Also, see the City of St. Paul Truth in Housing Inspection

For Boomers

Metro area in the top 20 for elder orphans

Posted on August 12, 2019August 12, 2019by Teresa Boardman

The term “elder orphan” keeps cropping up in information about senior housing. According to SeniorLiving.org, the Twin Cities are number 14 in the top 20

larger cities that are “elder orphan” friendly.

I am sure you have seen the senior housing ads that feature two old people, one man and one woman smiling at each other as they enjoy some activity in senior housing.

The future doesn’t look that way for 25% of baby boomers who are single and childless.

Cities that are elder orphan friendly have affordable safe housing and an excellent transportation system and residents have access to health care. I would think that living close to siblings and friends might be helpful too.

Senior housing is still a vague term. It can mean 55+ condos or apartments or assisted living apartments or even skilled nursing facilities. For many baby boomers, senior housing means living in the same home they lived in when they were younger.

For many moving isn’t an attractive option which means it is unlikely that orphan elders will flock to the metro area to take advantage of the orphan elder friendliness.

Friday fun

Time to move north

Posted on August 9, 2019August 6, 2019by Teresa Boardman

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. Climate change is kind of like gravity. It doesn’t matter what a person believes it is getting warmer even here in Minnesota. July 2019 was the warmest month on record. It was warm in Minnesota too but we still have a lot of cold here in the Northland.

Now is a great time to move to Minnesota . . it won’t snow until December or January and it will be warm enough to go outside until at least mid-November. Minnesota winters are shorter and warmer than they used to be but are still very long and brutally cold.

Earlier this year temperatures dipped down to -27 with a high for the day of -13. There were three days in a row where the lows were below -20. It looks like we have had two days this year with a high of 90 degrees. That is 117-degree temperature range in a six month period. You just can beat that for variety. Earthquakes are rare here and we are far from the rising seas.

If you need help finding and buying real estate in Minnesota I can help. Hurry before it is too late and before it gets too crowded.

St. Paul MN

Throwback Thursday – bikes

Posted on August 8, 2019August 6, 2019by Teresa Boardman

St. Paul used to have a shared bike program. I have photographic evidence.

shared bikes — 7th and St. Peter in downtown St. Paul

Bike share systems remain popular throughout the U.S. and around the world. According to a report just released by the National Association of City Transportation Officials, residents and tourists in US cities took 35 million bike-share trips in 2017, up a whopping 25 percent from 2016. The number of trips that are taken each day on shared bikes continues to rise.

The lack of a share bike program in St. Paul makes the city unique. Who knows maybe one day St. Paul will be the only city without a bike-share program.

For Home buyers
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- For Home Sellers

Humans are exposed to mold indoors and out

Posted on August 7, 2019August 6, 2019by Teresa Boardman

There is a 100% chance that the home you live in and the one that you buy in the future has mold in it. Mold is everywhere.

This is what the Minnesota Department of Health has to say about mold testing:

“Poor reason for testing #1 “To find out if there is mold”

A complex mixture of mold particles normally exists in all occupied indoor environments. If appropriate testing is done, it is expected that molds will be found. There is, however, an important distinction between the normal presence of mold particles, versus mold growth and accumulation indoors. Unfortunately, even when it is done well, testing may not be able to distinguish between “normal” and “problem” conditions and it may even give misleading results.”

To lessen mold growth in your home, seal up any leaks, dry everything out. Clean or remove moldy surfaces. The Minnesota Department of Health website has information about how to clean up mold using bleach and water.

I know it was just last month that I wrote about Lead-Based Paint because it is safe to assume most St. Paul houses including my own contain lead-based paint.