How real estate sales impact Minnesota’s economy

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
MN Capitol
Minnesota Capitol building

The real estate industry impacts the whole economy. Here are some numbers from the National Association of Realtors about how home sales impact Minnesota:

The real estate industry accounted for $51,997 million or 15.8% of the gross state product in 2015.

Economic Contributions are derived from:

• Home construction • Real estate brokerage • Mortgage lending • Title insurance • Rental and leasing • Home appraisal • Moving truck service • Other related activities

When a Home is Sold in Minnesota Income generated from real estate related industries is: $18,540

Additional expenditures on consumer items such as furniture, appliances, and remodeling are: $4,572 – Source: BEA, Census, NAHB, NAR

The state of Minnesota charges for real estate licenses and renewals and there is a Mortgage registration tax for home buyers and a state deed tax for sellers.

As a small local real estate company, most of what we earn gets put right back into the local economy. There are no franchise fees and our headquarters are right here in St. Paul.

Public Art at the Farmer’s market

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun but today I am writing about Sunday because that is the day I go to the Farmer’s market.

This past week I waited until the Farmer’s market closed so that I could photograph the artwork inside. The walls were painted by Deep Walls Painting and are simply gorgeous.

This weekend I’ll be buying apples, eggs and an assortment of vegetables.

Downtown Saint Paul, Farmer’s market

 

Time to schedule the annual heating system tune-up

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
Antique Gravity Furnace

It is still Summer but Fall isn’t far off and it is a short season here in the North.

If you are a homeowner and live in Minnesota now would be a great time to have your boiler or furnace service, inspected and or tuned up.  There is still plenty of time to get it fixed or replaced before it gets cold and it will get cold.

Usually, there are specials this time of year too for those who get it done before it gets cold and the repair guys get busy.

I hate to sound like your father but it is a good idea especially here in Minnesota where it gets so cold to schedule a furnace tune-up every fall. It generally costs less to get work done in late summer or early fall than it does during the heating season.

I see a lot of houses with old furnaces that have been well maintained. They really do last longer with regular maintenance. Personally, I am not a fan of the service plans but I am a fan of service.

If you are selling your home this fall or winter it is a good idea to have the furnace or boiler serviced and save the receipt or even tape it to the furnace. Buyers who are closing on homes this fall should either have the furnace tuned up or should make sure that the seller has already taken care of it.

It is time to plan for spring

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

If you love tulips now is the time to pick up some tulip bulbs. The flowers like sunlight and they bloom in the spring but are planted in the fall. The good news is that if you plant them this fall they will bloom every spring with minimal care.

Experts say to wait until the soil temperature is 60 or lower and before the first frost. We don’t really know when the first frost will be, but generally in St. Paul the best time to plant bulbs will be around the 20th of September but before October 15th.

Tulip bulbs are easy to plant and they look amazing when they bloom. All you need to do is dig a hole about six inches deep, put a bulb in it and bury the bulb.

Tulips

They are also fun to photograph.

Always be wealthy

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

We can learn from history and we should but usually, we forget what happened in the past and we really don’t learn from it.

We all should have learned from the great recession and the housing market crash that it is best to be wealthy. The wealthy recovered from the recession but the poor did not. Large banks were bailed out but homeowners were not.

I feel fortunate that all we lost was one income and some savings. We still have our home and as soon as the local housing market turned around in 2012 I paid off the mortgage.

The worst year for us financially was 2011 and that was the year home prices and the number of home sales hit bottom.

The rest of my family wasn’t so fortunate. Some lost homes and others graduated from college during the recession and struggled to find work and pay back student loans.

Here is a snapshot of the last decade of the housing market in St. Paul. The only part of the chart that looks “normal” to me are the years 2012 and 2103. Maybe the rest of it is the new normal. I hope not because homes for sale are in short supply and are unaffordable for many.

chart, median prices and homes for sale
St. Paul housing market 2008-2018

There will be a buyers market again. Some predict it will start in 2020. The chart is a great illustration of our current market with supply going down and prices going up.