Home ownership still important

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

After the crash of the housing market homeownership kind of got a bad rap which makes sense because there were so many people who had negative equity.  As people continue to make mortgage payments and home values go up instead of down a lot more people have home equity.

Home ownership is down nationwide from what it was at the peak in 2005 but looks to be as strong as it was in the 1990’s. In the long run owning a home is still a great way to accumulate wealth. People who have their home paid off when they retire spend less on housing and have more money for food and health care. I guess some even have money for fun and travel. 🙂

Here is a looks at networth and home ownership from a presentation given  by Lawrence Yun, Ph.D., NAR Chief Economist Ph.D., NAR Chief Economist, to the Residential Real Estate Forum at the 2014 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in New Orleans, LA on November 7, 2014.

Presentation__Real_Estate_Trends_and_Outlook___realtor_org

 

That isn’t to say that now is a good time to buy a home. The good job needs to come first and those don’t seem to be all that easy to find but are at least more plentiful than they were a few years back. Over the long haul renting is usually better for the landlord economically  than it is for the renter.

Home sales and prices by St. Paul neighborhood

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Here are some local home prices by neighborhood for St. Paul Minnesota for the month of October 2014. I am not sure how I did it but I did not publish numbers for September.  September Median home prices for St. Paul were close to 160K. In October they were about 155K.  This  looks like a normal seasonal variation and it should also be noted that the median price was 144K last October.

I highlighted the number 2 for downtown because it represents the number of offers that were made and accepted on homes/condos for sale. That number is unusually low. In general there is less housing downtown than there is in most of the other neighborhoods and single digit numbers are not that unusual but the 2 is, I even ran the numbers twice. One months data is relatively meaningless but I’ll be watching that number.

The inventory of homes on the market is shrinking a little but that too is seasonal and is slightly lower than it was last October. Part of this decrease is due to the decrease in foreclosures.

October data
Home sales St. Paul, October 2014

The housing market is an important part of our economy. People who own homes generally have a higher net worth than those who do not.  Interest rates are low and homes are generally affordable.

Real estate is local and for more local real estate numbers please see “Local Market Conditions and home prices”

My new seasonal friends

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
cactus
Scottsdale Arizona

Arizona real estate agents know that some folks from Minnesota are likely to become snowbirds and seek housing in sunny Arizona for the winter and spend the summers up here where they can be near friends and family not to mention the lovely lakes, and the arts, fine dining and all that the metro area has to offer.

I do know some mighty fine real estate agents in Arizona and would be happy to make an introduction should any  Minnesotan want to defect for the winter. 😉 Last winter was so bad that some folks were already planning their moves in January and I worked with one home seller who had only lived here one winter and did not want to stay for another.  Last winter was unusually brutal I am somewhat surprised that any of us are staying for another.

If you do decide to move away keep my contact information handy as parts of Arizona are on the list of the top ten places that are going to be adversely affected by climate change.

Personally I like the idea of a vacation in the Desert Southwest in January . . which by the way is when and where I took the photo.

Also see “Climate is everything?”

The last nice day

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun and Duluth Minnesota is a great place to go for some fun.  We go up to Duluth so we can visit lake superior a couple of times a year. This year we have only gone once . . so far. We were there on the last day of September and it was actually warm. I took this first picture in the evening and oh my it was a beautiful evening by the lake.

lake superior
Lake Superior

Late that night a cold front moved in and this is what the lake looked like the next day.

lake superior
lake superior

Enjoy the weather today 😉

Outdoor water needs to be turned off

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
faucet

This tip is  mostly for new homeowners or for people who are new to Minnesota.

It is time to turn off the water to the outdoor faucets and disconnect any hoses and put them away. It will be in the 40’s today and tomorrow so you still have time before winter comes next week.

Here is what you need to do:

1.  Turn off the water from the inside of the house.

2.  open the spigot on the outside.

What happens if you don’t turn the water off?  Pipes can freeze and faucets can be destroyed by ice.  . . and it isn’t pretty.  Frozen pipes can burst and ice can damage faucets resulting in the need for expensive repairs. 

The worst photos

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

NorthstarMLS_Matrix 2I was looking at some properties to show a client when I found some of the worst photos I have ever seen on the MLS. I got to thinking about the impact of really bad photographs on the sale of a home. These days homes are advertised on the internet where thousands of people see the pictures. Photographs are used as a screening tool by real estate agents and buyers.

I often wonder if home sellers look at the photographs when they are put in the MLS and if they do look at the photographs why they don’t ask to have them redone if they are as poor as this one.

Does the home in the picture look at all appealing? Will this picture attract buyers or ridicule?  If your home is on the market look it up on the internet and check out the photographs. if they are not up to par ask for professional photographs.

Keep in mind that the best pictures do not just document the home but show it in the best possible way, we call that marketing.