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Is MN affordable? Cost of Living update Minneapolis 2022

February 6, 2022February 7, 2022 MaryLeave a comment

A lot of people say that they choose to move to Minneapolis because it’s a nice sized city with an affordable cost of living. Most of the people that I work with are moving to Minnesota from out of state and are often coming from more expensive parts of the country. But not everyone is! Today I want to take a look at the cost of living in the Twin Cities and how it compares to some other areas that I see people coming from as well as other cities in the Midwest.

How is Cost of Living determined?

“Cost of living” is a term used by economists and it’s actually an INDEX, so every place in the US is compared to the national average, which is considered 100%. If a city has a cost of living lower than the national average, it will be expressed as some percentage less than 100 and a higher than the national average cost of living will be a number that expresses HOW MUCH higher than the national average it is as in 100+ x%.

Cost of living in Minneapolis

The magic number for Minneapolis is close to 103% of the national average. This index is broken down into segments like housing, transportation, food, and entertainment and then the number given is the one that consolidates all of these.

Having a cost of living index of 103% of the national average is really a comforting number if you’re looking for an affordable city! I’m going to give you the current COL #’s for other cities in the US as well as cities specifically in the Midwest so you can see how we stack up. Remember that this is looking at ALL areas of the country and typically urban areas are much more expensive.

Housing

black handled key on key hole — Photo by PhotoMIX Company on Pexels.com

Housing is the most expensive part of nearly everyone’s budget. Minneapolis is at 117% of the national average. If you’ve ever seen one of my market update videos you’ll understand what drives that, but its a combination of low housing supply, low interest rates and a big bubble of first time buyers that are hitting the market right now.

Food

Here in Minneapolis we are right near the national average for food pricing, sitting at 101% of the national average.

Transportation

For transportation costs, Minneapolis sits higher than the national average at 108%. This includes an average of cost of gasoline, car insurance and maintenance expenses, and mass transit fare for the area. I was a little surprised by this one because I just returned from a trip to NE Ohio and gas prices were consistently higher than what I have paid in MN everywhere east of us. According to AAA, auto fuel prices in MN are LOWER than the national average.

Healthcare

computer desk laptop stethoscope — Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

Healthcare is at a wonderful 75% of the national average! The past couple of years have shown us all how important this piece is for everyone, and not only are our costs lower here, but we also have access to some of the best healthcare in the world with the Mayo Clinic being located within easy driving distance of Minneapolis and many high quality hospital systems within the twin cities area itself.

Micellaneous Costs

people in concert — Photo by Sebastian Ervi on Pexels.com

Miscellaneous costs come in at 108% these include those goods and services not included in the other cost of living categories, including clothing, restaurants, repairs, entertainment, and other services.

Compared to other large metros across the US

If we compare Minneapolis to large metro areas like New York, San Diego, or Chicago we see that, no surprise, it’s more affordable here.

Housing in NYC is 441% HIGHER than Minneapolis, and cost of living there is 141% higher, San Diego is 35% higher overall with housing 110% higher, and Chicago – where I came from – is 15% higher overall but housing in particular is 54% higher than Minneapolis.

Housing is the biggest driver of whether an area is affordable or not – we all need a roof over our heads!

Coming from Texas

I see a lot of people coming to Minneapolis from Texas, most commonly the Austin area, but definitely from all over and Austin is actually coming in at 4% less expensive than Minneapolis. Rents are higher in Austin, but median price to purchase a home is slightly lower there.

Other Midwestern Cities

Looking closer to home, at smaller cities in the Midwest, Madison WI is actually MORE expensive to live in than Minneapolis – housing is 8% higher, food 3% more expensive and healthcare a whopping 19% more expensive.

Minnesotans will definitely question why anyone would pay MORE to live in Wisconsin. I mean. It just doesn’t make sense.

Milwaukee WI (if you love your Pabst!) is the bargain area with overall costs being 2% less, but still getting you where it hurts if you need to go to the dr.

Bargain Cities of the Midwest

Saint Louis has a 17% lower cost of living index than Minneapolis. Everything from housing, transportation, entertainment is lower – they do come in slightly higher on food and Des Moines Iowa is also a bargain, coming in with a lower cost of living on every metric and the net saving is 24%!

grey arc building under blue sky — Photo by Brittany Moore on Pexels.com

If you have questions about living in or moving to Minneapolis or the twin cities reach out! I’m happy to help! If you’re curious about different neighborhoods or suburbs, check out my playlist on my YouTube channel where I talk about exactly that!

Minneapolis Housing Market 2022 Forecast

January 8, 2022January 8, 2022 MaryLeave a comment

Hi and happy new year! Who wants to start the year off with some DATA and a look at what the real estate market is doing PLUS what I believe will happen with the housing market in 2022? I actually LOVE data – it tells a very clear story, so let’s dive in and take a look at what that data is telling us.

Prefer to watch rather than read this? 😉

I wish I had a crystal ball to tell you what is going to happen to the real estate market in 2022, I don’t, but I will make some educated guesses! In addition to that I’m going to share with you what the offers that have been accepted have looked like in the past month.

I like that info because it is ALSO a gauge for how strong the market is – what are sellers wanting to see and what are buyers willing to do to win?

in 2021, being a buyer (or a buyer’s agent!) could feel like pushing a boulder up hill. It was hard, tiring, a little stressful but it was ultimately satisfying if everyone hung in there (I’m stubborn – I don’t quit).

The market was really rough for buyers because demand for homes here is HIGH and supply is LOW. I think many of us went into this winter hoping for a bit of a break on the horizon, but the numbers are not making it look like that will be the case.

Inventory of homes was really low LAST January first – historically low! and as of the first week of january this year we have 15% fewer listings on the market to choose from than we did then. We are still in a ridiculously strong seller’s market.

Fun fact – the last time the market was considered “balanced” in the twin cities was 10 years ago. It has favored sellers ever since and doesn’t seem to be lightening up at all.

As a colleague said today, there is a lot of national press saying that the market is loosening up but the numbers tell a different story.

Do tell, National News!

It’s important to look at DATA for the market you’re in and understand what that means for your situation. So let’s look at the data for the twin cities – you know that price is a function of supply and demand, and we have already established that supply is low. It has been consistently low for years and the recent challenges with supply chain and lumber prices are not helping supply to correct that quickly. It’s going to be a long term process.

Absorption Rate

Realtors look at how many months supply we have of homes available to sell if NO OTHER HOMES ARE LISTED in order to determine what kind of market we are in – 5-6 months is considered a balanced market, fewer months worth of inventory favor sellers and the smaller the number of months the more strongly it favors them, and vice versa for buyers.

Currently, the total months supply we have now including ALL property types is 8/10 of one month. .8 months is WAAAAAY less than 5-6 months.

If you break this down further you see that single family homes are at .7 months supply this year (one year ago we had 9/10’s of a month), Condos have been the softer spot and currently have a 1.6mo supply down significantly from a year ago when we had 2.8 months, and townhomes are just like single family homes with .7 now vs .9 a year ago.

An interesting thing to me is that high end homes are seeing the market tighten up a lot now too. That area had more wiggle room last year, but it looks like that is no longer the case.

Median price by property type

If we take a look at prices we see what this high demand has done over the course of a year, single family homes are at a median price of $360,000 UP 10% year over year from $326,300 (emphasizing that this is a MEDIAN price for the entire metro area, obviously prices range widely!)

Townhomes show a similar increase of 8% from $240,000 a year ago to $259,900 now.

Condos despite being the soft spot ALSO rose in price – they are at $191,000 up 11.6% from $171,000 a year ago.

Demand side of the equation

The other side of the equation is DEMAND. What leads to this high demand?

A couple of things that I can think of the first of which are the low interest rates. The Fed is talking about raising them this year but even if they do, these changes are typically incremental as they test to see the effect on the markets for everything – not JUST homes.

If the rates rise a bit – even to 4%? will that tamp down the demand for homes?

I personally don’t think it will have an enormous effect, the demand is so high, and even 4% or 5% are STILL low interest rates. In the past I have paid interest at 8.25% for my first home, 6.5% for my second, we paid 4% and thought we had a steal when we moved to MN! Yes, we refinanced when the rates dipped again, but you get my point. It’s relative, and people want a place to live that belongs to THEM and gives them essentially rent control and a predictable expense PLUS the joys of having your own home.

The second factor in demand is the fact that a very large bubble of millenials is aging into a time when they want to do the things that people do in early adulthood – get married, have a family, BUY A HOUSE. This bubble, or boom, is driving demand for homes.

Tips for BUYERS

If you are thinking of selling, your property will likely get scooped up VERY quickly this year. If you are thinking of jumping into the pool to BUY, I have some advice:

1. Understand that you are going to be in a difficult situation, you aren’t the only one looking at a house and if you decide to offer on it you will be competing with many other people. Do your best.

2.) steal yourself for the process. If you don’t get the first home you offer on, it will likely hurt a bit, get back in the saddle and try again. SOMEONE wins every one of those multiple offer situations – that someone CAN be you. You just need to have the chops to hang in there and keep swinging. If I’m working with you, I’m going to have your back every step of the way and help you present your offer in a way that makes the seller say – YES – that one!

3.) very important! Look at homes listed UNDER your max price. Almost NOTHING goes for list price right now, so you need to put yourself in a position of being able to offer over list.

4.) A corollary to #3 is that you should save as much cash as possible so that you have that wiggle room to cover appraisal gaps or increase a budget and put a smaller percentage down if you need to.

5.) lastly, don’t stop looking at the times when everyone else has stopped looking! If it’s a holiday or WINTER, now is a good time to look because you are competing with fewer buyers even if the supply is lower, too. I love to look on holiday weekends – sign me up for Memorial Day! I’ve not really had a break over the Christmas season this year because listings are selling now as well as buyers getting homes while everyone else is hung over from too much egg nog. STAY IN THE GAME. Take advantage of the situation.

Offers that are getting accepted NOW

Let’s look at what types of offers are getting accepted right now according to Home Free Transaction Coordinators – what are sellers looking for and buyers offering in the effort to get a home?

Offer Acceptance Rate: 52% this indicates multiple offers to me. We have been quite low on this in the recent past – under 30%

Inspections were Waived 30% of the time – summer was over 50%, now seems like a good time to buy if you REALLY want an inspection

Pre-MLS Sales: 4.4%, these are sales that happen off market, private network of agents marketing them to each other.

Average Purchase to List Price is the lowest I’ve seen this year at 100.87%, this was up around 105% in summer!

Financing Types:

Cash 19% – this is the highest I’ve seen and I can say that it reflects my own personal experience recently.

Conventional loans 73% – still the big daddy, and always will be.

FHA 2% still tough to get these accepted and that kind of stinks, but when you’re going up against cash, I can’t blame a seller.

VA 4% this is the highest I have seen in a year at least.

USDA 1%,

Other 1%

Seller contribution to Closing Costs: 37.8%, this can be in lieu of fixing something.

Home Warranties included in the sale 5.6%

Offers Contingent Upon the Sale of the Buyer’s Property are at 6.7% – this is actually DOWN quite a bit, I believe not too long ago it was around 10-12%. Try to avoid this of possible. It’s really tough to get accepted.

If you’re exploring communities, check out my neighborhoods and suburbs playlist on YouTube to take a look at different areas of the metro.

Let me know if you have questions or comments – love to hear from you!

Home Buying · home selling · market updates

Twin Cities Real Estate Market Update – Fall 2021

November 5, 2021November 5, 2021 MaryLeave a comment

Let’s talk about the Real Estate Market in the twin cities! It’s been a little bit since I’ve done one of these updates, and typically there is some seasonality to the real estate market, with a big slow down in the fall as holidays approach and things picking up in the early spring. Is that the case this year? Let’s find out!

So, how’s the market? If there is one question every agent hears all the time, this is IT! And I think everyone knows the market has been GREAT for sellers and really rough for buyers, so the question is has that changed? The information I’ll give you here applies to the 7 county metro area, but you should know that every neighborhood has its own micro market and behaves a bit independently from the whole, this information is just a snapshot of the general market behavior right now, if you’re curious about your own little niche – let me know and I get you more specific #’s that apply to your specific area in the metro – just send me an email about that and I’m happy to help.

I was able to get a look at some historical data comparing this year to 10 years ago and one of the things that stood out were that the # of active listings that are available to be sold has continually decreased to nearly HALF of what we had then – we had 10,229 homes to choose from in 2016 and now have only 5,692. This isn’t sudden, it’s a distinct trend line going down over the past 10 years. The inventory issue did not sneak up on us and it isn’t going anywhere.

If it’s prices that are freaking you out they peaked in summer and we are now seeing the fall dip. So this could be the time to get a better deal on a home than getting into the scrum with everyone else during peak season.

If you remember from other updates, I like to reference the “absorption rate” how many months would it take for the market to sell or absorb all the homes for sale on the market if no others were listed?

5-7 months worth of housing inventory is considered “balanced” and any number of months less than that indicates a sellers market and a number HIGHER than that is a buyers market.

Right now we have 1.03 mo supply of single family homes, 1.34 mo supply or condos and townhomes, and 1.12 combined mo supply of homes total. A very distinct sellers market! STILL! but better in some degree than earlier this summer when it was less than one month – somewhere around 2-3 weeks, and that takes into consideration days on market and active contingencies like inspection. Reality was that things were sold in a couple of days. And that is STILL the reality depending the price point, condition and the location of the home.

Pricing Trends

Let’s look at what sellers are deeming a good offer right now:

Offer Acceptance Rate: 62% -this has been as low as about 33% this year
Inspections Waived: 31% which is down from the highs over 50%. I am still seeing this come up a lot in multiple offer situations, and if people are bidding on a competitive house getting an inspection can still be a sticking point.
Pre-MLS Sales: 2.74% – this is lower than it’s been for most of this year – we have seen these off market properties make up around 5% of sales over most of the summer
Average Purchase to List Price: sellers are getting of their asking price 100.67% – great news for buyers and not awful news for sellers. You’ll probably get your asking price.

I will say that this is much MORE likely if it is a single family home as condos and townhomes are still soft spots.

The most recent 3 transactions that I have had have ALL had multiple offers, (7-9 offers), one had an accepted offer at 10% over list price, one at nearly 6% over list and the last I don’t know the outcome because we didn’t get it but we offered (and lost) at 10% over list and were told they accepted a cash offer with NO contingencies (no inspection!).

All of these homes were in the tightest price bracket of $300-$500K. No matter what the statistics say this continues to be an area of really fierce competition when it comes to homes that are in high demand areas and in good condition.

Financing Types:

Cash 14%, – if you have the means to make this kind of offer it can really give you an edge. I am aware of some mortgage products that allow you to make a cash offer so if you’re in a competitive price point, and feel like this might be the answer, know that there are options out there and I give help you find out about this.

Conventional loans are still the big dog at 74% of loans.
FHA represented 10% of the accepted offers which is a nice bump up! This is great to see for people that may be first time buyers and need the extra room that an FHA loan grants them. It’s just been difficult to get an FHA loan accepted in this market when you’re being outbid by people that can guarantee appraisal gaps or provide other financial incentives (like cash purchases!).
VA 1% still a tough spot to be in , if you’re not familiar with VA loans, they are a zero down loan. This is a really tough spot when appraisal gap coverage is needed, so if you’re in a position to take any other type of loan, that would probably be beneficial to your offer.
USDA 0% – these are typically on land or rural purchases, seeing a low number here for a metro area is not surprising.
Other = 1%.
Seller Paid Closing Costs: 31% – this keeps going up!
Home Warranties: were included 9.6% – another statistic on the rise – so these indicators all show a very slight softening from the harsh days of early summer for buyers
Contingent Upon the Sale of the Buyer’s Property: 7.5% A little lower than we’ve seen in other months, but present!

Thanks for stopping by! If you’re interested in learning more about the different neighborhoods and suburbs around the twin cities, check out some of my videos highlighting those! I have a playlist dedicated to this with lots of good information if you’re thinking about making a move.

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Savage MN – a bit of a secret on the south side…

September 21, 2021September 21, 2021 MaryLeave a comment

Check out my video if you want an “in-person” look…

The city of Savage wasn’t named for anything terrifying – it’s actually named after Marion Willis Savage. Marion Savage owned the champion race horse “Dan Patch” in the early 1900’s and if you live in or move to MN you will likely hear that name from time to time. If you know the origins you’ll be ahead of nearly 90% of the people that live there! You’re welcome!

There is a street on the State Fair grounds named after the horse and Prior Lake HS (which serves kids from Savage) named their football stadium after the horse as well.

Savage is what I would consider a bedroom community (if you haven’t heard that term before it simply means a place that people live but don’t work there).

I stopped into the library to check it out and while I was in there I spoke with the librarian to see if I was missing something – a central downtown that I had somehow overlooked?? The librarian agreed with me that Savage is really a community that just grew up in the farm fields as the area near Minneapolis developed rather than growing up around a central downtown.

“City center”

So Savage is by definition, NOT a walkable community, cars will be a major part of your life in Savage.

Instead of a downtown area, there is one central point that I would consider the “civic center” of Savage. You’ll find the Savage library (which is large, modern and pretty – it seems like an enjoyable place to spend some time), the town hall, the post office,& the police and fire stations all in this one area.

A bonus that I noticed when looking at their web site, the city offers free notary services to residents. That could be your tipping point when weighing your options!

Housing

Before I ventured out to Savage I looked at the homes listed in the MLS to get a sense of the range and what types were available for sale right now – there are some really beautiful townhomes that are in the low to mid $200’s, and prices go up to the mid $700’s for homes. The most expensive listing right now in Savage is for the remnants of a farm and will likely be sold for land development at close to $1M.

Single family home prices in Savage Sept 2021

Median price for townhomes in Savage September 2021

I added this because I think there is good value in moderately sized homes.

Shopping

Shopping in Savage is limited to a few smaller shopping centers as compared to nearby Burnsville which has an abundance of stores, shopping centers, chain restaurants and a mall. If you live in Savage you’re likely to get your groceries at the Super Target, the HyVee or Cub Foods. If you like Costco like I like Costco, rest assured that there is one Savage adjacent in Burnsville.

Schools

Savage is served by 3 different school districts, so again, this is a case where if you have a preference for a particular school district you should verify the school boundaries and that your home lies within the district that you want to have. The three districts that serve Savage are:

Prior Lake – Savage district 719
Burnsville-Eagan-Savage district 191
Shakopee District 720.

There are 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 1 high school serving Savage. In addition, Savage has a Spanish immersion school, an alternative school, and 2 early learner schools.

Parks

black and brown miniature schnauzer lying on green grass field — Photo by Sebastian Coman Travel on Pexels.com

Savage does have a few parks, and I think that there are often play lots for kids in the subdivisions, but they may lean heavily on the regional park that borders the south side of the city – Murphy-Hanrehan Park.

It’s a very large park and it made me think a bit of my other favorite regional Park – Lebanon Hills in Eagan. The Park offers a LOT of activities – Boating, Camping, Single Track Mountain Biking, Fishing, Hiking, Snowshoeing, Snow Mobiling, x-ctry Ski Trails, and 2 off leash dog parks – you can buy a day or an annual pass for the dog parks. One of the dog parks at Cleary Lake allows the pups to go for a swim. Savage does have one other dog park (I believe this one is part of the Savage Park district rather than the regional park, but it is Free.

Unlike other suburbs, Savage doesn’t have an aquatic center or anything like that, but they have a partnership with LifeTime Fitness for use of their indoor and outdoor pools.

Property Taxes

For this one I will defer to the Scott County MN web site because property taxes in Savage vary by which school district the home is in and the value of the home. So you can get an estimated rate quite easily on their site if you are curious as to how they vary.

Fences, Chickens and BEES

And to answer my always asked questions: YES you CAN have a fence! The city regulates the type, workmanship and height depending on where it will be on your property, so you’ll have to check that out. Also – YES – you can have YARD BIRDS. Chickens and BEEKEEPING are allowed.

Savage is a great place to consider if you want a quieter lifestyle & don’t particularly care if the city provides a bunch of amenities which you may be able to easily access in nearby communities. If you want a relatively easy commute to either Minneapolis or St. Paul, or need to be able to get to the airport without a lot of hassle, this is a good option. Home prices in Savage are more affordable in pockets than they are in other parts of the metro and may be a good place to look if you are a first time buyer or if you just don’t have thee budget to live in other more expensive areas of the city.

home selling

Curb appeal for pennies.

September 5, 2021September 5, 2021 MaryLeave a comment

You’ve heard that saying that “you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”? It’s true. You’ve gotta get them in the front door! And you really don’t want buyers coming in with reservations about the house before they actually walk into your home!

Today I’m going to give you easy and inexpensive (or FREE!!) ideas for making your house look super inviting and keeping buyers from making their showing a “drive by”.

If you’re thinking of selling your home, download my “7 Tips to a Fast Sale” – It’s free in the description box below the video or you can email me and I’ll send you a copy. mschumann@kw.com

Here are some cheap and easy ways to make your curb appeal top notch!

Often when we live somewhere for a long time we stop seeing things that are minor and might need some spiffing up, but buyers won’t miss them, and may think that this reflects on the quality of the home overall and the PRICE.

I spend a lot of time with buyers and I hear the things that come to their attention as they look at a home and how they perceive them – little changes can go a LONG way toward making buyers excited about coming into your home and it will PAY OFF when offers come in. When people perceive the value to be high they WANT to win the bid. Obviously curb appeal is just one aspect of that, and it is often a quick and inexpensive fix.

I’ll start with the most expensive of the things I’ll mention (and it’s not expensive!) – updating an exterior light fixture. This isn’t something we spend a lot of time looking at on our own homes, but I think of them like the jewelry on a home.

LIGHT

Take a hard look at yours – are the light fixtures dated, faded, dirty and crusty looking? Maybe it just needs a good cleaning, or if you are great with spray paint and want to take it down and tape off everything and give it a fresh coat of paint to freshen up the metal, awesome! But if you think it could use an update and make your home appear more modern or current, you can get a new light and install it within an hour for less than $100. No lie. I’ve installed MANY light fixtures over the years and if I’m still standing, it means you can do it too.

Speaking of jewelry on the home – while you’re looking at the light fixture, check the house numbers. Our house had tiny squiggly super cheap house number when we bought it, I replaced them with larger, clean lined, fresh ones and was stunned at the difference. So many times I’m out walking my dog through the neighborhood and I love looking at homes (of course) and one of the things I’ll notice is a great set of house numbers. Some of these can be quite expensive, but they don’t have to be! You can really show your attention to details with a set you pick up from the local Home Depot or another hardware store.

Make it fresh and HAPPY

Still focusing on the entryway (the place where the buyers will stand examining everything while they wait for the agent to get the door open!) look at your front door. Is it faded, dirty, scuffed up or the does the color lack punch? You should consider painting the front door. It’s less than a quart of paint and an hour of your time to have a fresh clean happy looking entry way. Maybe $15? Then add a pretty wreath if you want – to me a wreath says WELCOME. If you’re in a condo – this can be your curb appeal! easy.

Now make the rest of the entry shine by making sure you’ve swept down any cobwebs, replace lightbulbs so that the porch or entry has a bright welcome, and replace the welcome mat if it’s not new. Sweep the surface of the stairs, and if your sidewalk or steps aren’t looking very fresh, borrow a power washer and give them a good cleaning. I know I’m not the only one that loves before and after videos of power washing… so satisfying! Also free and worth doing – clean any glass on the door or windows nearby. 🙂

Set the stage

If you are lucky enough to have a porch, put out a chair with a bright pillow that picks up your door color, add a side table to show that it’s a great place to sit with coffee, greet neighbors, or watch the kids play. People want to imagine how they would live in the spaces and making it inviting right from the moment people approach is important.

Details… Look at your landscaping

Now focus on your landscaping a bit. Make sure your grass has been mowed, and go the extra step and edge around sidewalks. This looks really sharp and gives the impression of care.

Photo by I Do Nothing But Love on Unsplash

Make sure you pull weeds! I have seen more than one house with weeds coming up through entry steps or sidewalk cracks. I wince because details matter and this is EASY and FREE.

Make sure to trim back bushes and trees so that they are easy to walk past, that they are not allowed to obscure the house, which is a double no no – it makes the house look creepy and overgrown from the outside and often blocks a precious FREE resource INSIDE – natural light! Nearly everyone wants a home filled with natural light. Especially if you live in the north!
Add a fresh layer of mulch to garden beds and clip back or pull out anything that isn’t looking fresh.

Adding fresh flowers to a pot or two as you approach the house really adds a welcoming touch but if you aren’t much of a gardener, you can find fake plants easily and for not a lot of money at home stores. I honestly can’t believe the deals I’ve found on them lately when I’ve been out shopping for staging materials for my listings.

If you’re selling in winter use evergreen branches as your “potted plants” to add life and warmth to the front of the home. I’ve picked up premade bundles from greenhouses and they last forever out in the cold and really make a good first impression. This is not 100% curb appeal, but if you are selling in winter, do not neglect to keep your sidewalk absolutely clear of snow and ice. Falling on ice or wading through snow isn’t the best first impression.

Let me know if you have questions, feel free to download or request those tips for selling, they address things to consider for the house as a whole.

Home Buying

Reasons you should RENT and not BUY… PLUS a resource if this is you.

September 5, 2021September 5, 2021 MaryLeave a comment

Sometimes RENTING is the way to go. If you are moving to (or within) Minneapolis I’ll give you some reasons why you may want to choose RENTING a house or an apartment vs buying one.

I see people juggling this decision about where to live daily. A lot of people WANT to buy, but certain circumstances may mean that renting is actually the best choice, at least for now.
The number one reason people that I speak with most often are looking for a rental is that they are moving to the Minneapolis area from out of state. Not everyone is ready to buy sight unseen (but if you are I have a video about how I help people do that!). In this tight market, if you can possibly avoid having a home sale contingency on your offer you are FAR better off and that means there will be a period of time where you may be without a permanent home and need a place to rent.

A lot of my clients move to Minneapolis because they have been freed from having to work in an office and now work remotely and can live where they choose. This means that they have a LOT of options – that’s both a good thing AND a bad thing. Having the flexibility to explore without committing to a particular neighborhood is a great reason to rent! If this is YOU, let me know – I put together a list of rental options specifically with this in mind, you can email me and I’ll send it to you.

Most often people I work with that are relocating to Minneapolis may be looking for a short term rental to use as a base while they house hunt. I do not work in rentals for several reasons, but I am happy to email you a list of resources that I have recently compiled of places to start your search.

When you don’t have to eliminate any particular area because the commute is too long, it means that you have a lot to choose from and likely want to choose carefully based on what kind of lifestyle you want to live.

Do you want to live downtown in highrise condo overlooking the famous stone arch bridge and the Mississippi River? Taking advantage of easy access to all of the wonderful restaurants, clubs and outdoor spaces?

Or do you see yourself in a quiet suburban neighborhood with a cul de sac and playgrounds for the kids? Is being close to a large park to pursue outdoor activities important to you?
Maybe you want to be convenient to shopping or find a single level floor plan? You may need time to explore and figure out where the things that are most important to you are.

man standing beside his wife teaching their child how to ride bicycle — Photo by Agung Pandit Wiguna on Pexels.com

Juggling a move from one part of the country to the other will necessarily have some uncomfortable times – it’s emotionally stressful and often physically a bit uncomfortable too as you adjust to temporary housing and figuring out your way around the cities. Having a home base to operate out of even for a short time can ease that pain.

Another thing to mention – because rentals are in high demand if you need to sublet because you found a permanent place to live you’ll likely have an easy time finding a taker – just make sure that the landlord on your rental is ok with that before you sign.

Not everyone wants to or should be a home owner! Do you need to move often? Buying a home has a lot of associated expenses and they are typically not easily recouped in a short period of time.

If you want and need the flexibility to move without all of the expenses associated with buying or selling a home, then you should definitely rent. Renting can be an option for any type of home or area in the Twin Cities – there are a lot of downtown condos available if you want to be in the heart of it all as well as options reaching out to the single family homes or townhouses in the suburbs. Most single family homes are rented by owner, and not listed with an agent or a property management company.

Another reason to rent is that you are saving up for a downpayment on a home because you DO want to become a homeowner eventually. The rental market in the twin cities is very tight, so this may not be the money saving option that you hope for unless you’re able to split the rent with roommates or somehow find something that will be well under your budget.

Rents vary across the metro area but Average Rents in Minneapolis are:

Minneapolis studio apartment is $1,297
Minneapolis 1-bedroom apartment is $1,541
Minneapolis 2-bedroom apartment is $2,432
Minneapolis 3-bedroom apartment is $2,960

How much do you need to save in order to buy? Probably not as much as you think! There is a commonly held myth that you need to have 20% of the price of the home for a downpayment. This is just not true. You can get a conventional loan with as little as 3% down. Having more cash saved IS better, because you will want to have a cushion available when making offers in this environment.

If you’ve seen any of my videos this year about how tough of a market it is for buyers, you’ll know that having the option to offer over list or to cover an appraisal gap is going to be very helpful for you in getting an offer accepted. Even if you do not need to use all of your cash for a downpayment, moving into a home naturally leads to you to want to change a few things and make it your own so you should also plan to have some cash on hand in the event that you have something to change or fix. When you own your own home, there is no landlord and if the AC unit or water heater break that is now your problem, so try not to make your budget too tight.

For comparison to rental costs take a look at these estimated numbers by Nerdwallet. $380,000 is the median price of a single family in the Twin Cities as of August 2021. We currently have exceptionally low interest rates if your credit is good – 3%! and even if you have to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI) because you did not have a 20% down payment you are still in a good position relative to renting IF buying is your preference.

There are some other benefits to buying, including tax benefits and property value appreciation over time, so if you DO buy you’ll likely come out of it better off than when you purchased. People talk about “generational wealth” or having something to pass down to help the next generation and home ownership is a fundamental element of that. The National Association of Realtors said that prices appreciated by 22.9% in the past year – this is the result of a very tight supply of homes. If you had purchased a home last year you actually may have been able to make some money selling it this year, but this is NOT the norm. Prices rise and fall but the overall trend in values is UP. Add this to the fact that you’ve built equity by paying your mortgage down over time and a home could be a spring board to other opportunities.

Another reason you may want to rent – if you do not want to be the one responsible for the maintenance on a house – either by paying someone to fix it or putting on that toolbelt and fixing it yourself, stick to renting and leave the headache to the landlord. The fact of the matter is that houses are nearly constantly in need of something and they are the biggest asset that most people own, so keeping them in good shape is important to your comfort AND your bottom line.

Let me know if you want that list of places to start looking for a rental home, or if you’re wondering about how you can STOP renting and buy your own home – I’m here to help either way.

Uncategorized

5 things that SHOCKED me when I moved to Minnesota!

August 17, 2021 Mary1 Comment

Maybe the words “confused” or “amused” would also work to describe our reactions… 😉

I held a lot of stereotypes in my head about Minnesota but I also had a pretty large black hole where Minnesota information might have been if I had given Minnesota much thought at all before moving here… but I hadn’t.

Disclaimer out front – we LOVE living in Minnesota. I’m probably going to get ridden out of here on rails for this video/post, but I’m still going to do it! I am not a native, I’ve lived in Ohio, Michigan, Atlanta GA, Chicago IL and now I’m here, so I’m just coming at this with the eye of an outsider, and I’m sharing it with you.

#1 STATE PRIDE

The first thing that struck us when we moved here was that Minnesotans are extremely proud of their state. I have lived in SEVERAL other states as I mentioned and in none of them has there been this level of state branding worn by the residents. People wear Minnesota gear ALL THE TIME. I don’t mean gear for just the sports teams, I mean it’s like school spirit day every day because people wear clothing & hats, put bumper stickers on their cars, there is Minnesota themed artwork in their homes – you name it! All proudly proclaiming that they live in, and LOVE living in, Minnesota. It’s everywhere. Also, Minnesotans do not tolerate a less than favorable comparison to another state very well, even just a hint of one.

If there is any glory to be had, even if it’s tied by the very finest of threads, they will mention it. If someone does something notable and their uncle’s in-laws cousin once removed is from MN – well, good enough! Minnesota can lay claim. I really like it here too, I think a lot of this is somewhat justified. BUT this is a video about what stood out to me as an outsider and it is a very noticeable trait when you’re not from around these parts.

One of my Minnesota born and bred friends explained that Minnesotans are a little sensitive about being in fly-over country, it’s a little out of the way if you’re from the coasts, and it hurts to have your exceptional light dimmed by the fact of geography. The place has a lot going for it and if you know, you know. But if you don’t know …you may be tempted to step in it a bit and not give credit where Minnesotans believe that credit is due. 🙂 If you’re on Twitter follow the account “Indignant Minnesotan” – whoever this is gets it.

#2 Infrastructure

One thing that I was surprised by, and am now ecstatic over is that the infrastructure of the Twin Cities and the state as a whole is built very intentionally around helping people enjoy being outside. It took me a while to put my finger on it even though I take advantage of this nearly daily. It’s just so EASY to be a part of the natural beauty and lakes that surround us whether it’s on foot, on bikes or in the water itself. Chicago had some of this on the lake front, but MN has it EVERYWHERE. It feels like Minnesotans are born feeling that being outside and having easy access to it is their birthright.

scenic view of lake in forest — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I absolutely LOVE this characteristic and I can’t believe how deeply integrated this is into most of the state – at least the parts that I’ve been in so far. There are bike trails absolutely everywhere. City, suburb or exurb. The lakes are an extension of the way people live here and a lot of parks have ways for you to enjoy the water whether it’s through beaches, boat rentals, paddle boards, keeping them cleared for skating and pond hockey in winter or making them accessible for fishing. Much of the northern part of the state is forest or borders on Lake Superior and the parks and cabins that are available for spending time outside up there are extensive. Trails are used year round, for hiking, fat tire bikes, skiing, or snow mobiling.

three men riding on bicycles — Photo by Dorothy Castillo on Pexels.com

#3 Cabin culture

This one isn’t too much of a shock based on the last one, but cabin culture here is strong. People clear out of the city pretty much every weekend through the summer to head up to the cabin. All summer long you’ll see lots of photos of people having fun outside at lakes and cabins and you can enjoy easier access to just about everything in the city because no one is here.We don’t have a cabin, but I imagine that would be nice. 😉 but in the meantime, I’ll just be here in Minneapolis enjoying fewer people at the things I want to visit.

food wood man vacation — Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com

4. The weather!

Everyone thinks COLD when they think of Minnesota, what they don’t tell you is how ridiculously HOT it gets here in the summer. The month of July is like a sauna. Super humid and super hot, it’s just gross.

man in black shirt drinking water from plastic bottle — Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com

I am a cold weather person, I like to enjoy the moderate days and the sun for a few months but cold weather makes me happy inside. So July is not my favorite. We moved from Chicago which is significantly further south and it is significantly hotter here in the summer. I like to tell my friends and family in Ohio when they start talking about how awful our weather here must be in the winter that it’s about 10 degrees colder in winter and 10 degrees hotter in summer.

Most states talk about snow days for school. You aren’t likely to see that here. Kids go to school in the winter. The potential for kids being called off school for weather comes in when spring hits or the early fall when kids start back to school for a “heat day”. When it’s hot out with no AC in some of the schools, it’s intolerable and kids stay home (or go to the lake!). We do get the occasional day called off for cold or snow too, MPS calls school when its -35F or colder with wind chill or if, there is an extra large and fast snowfall. Whatever you imagine this to mean – double it.

5. The FAIR.

Minnesotans are OBSESSED with their state fair. They call it the Great Minnesota Get Together. They love the rides, the CROWDS, the “pronto pups” aka corn dogs and the “sweet martha’s cookies”. People will go to the state fair multiple times during the week that it’s running. This is not an inexpensive endeavor, in 2021 they are honoring 2020 admission tickets. You’re best bet is riding one of the buses from the various park and rides rather than trying to find a place to park. It’s a relatively inexpensive ticket and gets you there and back easily pretty much whenever you want to go.

people riding carousel in park — Photo by Scott Webb on Pexels.com

I don’t love it.

I keep trying.

I worry that there is something wrong with me, but then I think – I can’t be the only one that doesn’t love it! There must be more like me! I think we all try to keep it to ourselves to avoid the gasps of astonishment and confusion.

It’s not personal Minnesota! I just don’t like huge crowds!

If you like being smooshed together with vast swaths of Minnesotan humanity – give it a try! The one thing I DO love about the fair is the annual “Crop Art” competition just because it is just SO MINNESOTAN, and so creative. It amazed me all three times I went.

But now I like look at photos instead so I don’t need to be near all those people.

market updates

Real Estate Market Update for July 2021!

August 8, 2021August 8, 2021 MaryLeave a comment

A little breathing room!

If you are a buyer OR a seller, I think you’ll be happy with what is happening right now.

Today I just have a quick update on the Twin Cities real estate market for July 2021, including how the market has changed in the past month and what kinds of offers are being accepted by sellers right now. I LOVE this particular bit of data, it’s SO valuable to see in a higher level view of what types of offers are being accepted. This information started being sent out to us in early spring and while every transaction is different, the trends in offers are enlightening.

After a steady climb in home prices since the beginning of 2021, we are seeing the market flatten out a bit.

The median single family home price for the Twin Cities region stayed nearly level (it actually declined by a whopping $100) at $379,900.

The same can be said for townhouses which are at $259,900 down $100 from $260,000 last month.

Condos in the area that showed a legitimate dip in price, from $203,500 down to $200,000. $3000 isn’t a lot of money n the scheme of things but at that price point, that represents a decrease of 1.5%.

We are seeing an uptick in the number of months supply of single family homes, at one point early this year we were down to a couple of weeks worth available home which actually means that things were selling in a couple of days, usually taking offers on the first day and through the weekend and then being in some sort of contingent status for a period of time.
We are now up to 1.2 months supply. For context we consider it a balanced market at 5-6 months of supply, and the lower the number the more it favors SELLERS. So while we are coming out of that very painful time for buyers to some degree, it is still a seller’s market in the Twin Cities region.

For the macro view comparing todays market to a “normal” market (pre-Covid):
Showing activity, which is a measure of demand, dropped 8.0 percent overall, but not across the board! Some segments of the market have increased interest. For example, listings above $300K saw increased showing activity compared to the same time period in July of 2019.

Sellers haven’t been quite as active as they were – listings are down 21.8 percent overall.

This doesn’t hold true for every price range! Homes listed between $500-750K saw a 27.5 percent increase in supply of new listings compared to 2019 while listings priced above this category also saw increased supply on average.

Buyer activity, which was regularly skyrocketing in the first half of this year, has since calmed to follow a more stable pattern of demand, which is a big relief for buyers in general. Will there still be multiple offers? Quite possibly if the home is priced properly and in good condition. However, when sellers try to price at the top of the market it can backfire.
Overall pending sales are level with two years prior, but every price point has a distinct market of its own.

Listings below $250K saw decreased demand, down at least 29.7 percent. This could be due to the uneven job loss disproportionately hitting this with lower incomes.

Homes priced above $350K saw increased demand, up at least 44.8 percent or greater.
As of the end of July, the 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States remained at 2.8 percent – still super low!

Now lets take a look at the types of offers being accepted by sellers most recently.

I love looking at this over time because earlier this year it was like a bacchanalian feast for sellers and being sent to into the coliseum in Rome to fight for survival for buyers.
This data is provided to agents by the Minnesota Transaction Coordinators Company that helps agents across the metro process and manage transactions.

The current Offer Acceptance Rate is 55% – earlier this year we were hovering around the 30% mark and that was an exhausting place to be for buyers, especially those that had any contingencies at all.

The current Cancellation Rate on purchase agreements is 8% (mostly during the inspection timeframe).

Inspections are being Waived about 34% of the time. This is also a major improvement over earlier this year when we were seeing rates close to 50%.

I’ll reiterate something I’ve said in the past – I think an inspection is a really important thing for buyers and sellers AND their agents. It protects everyone.

Pre-market sales (private, off market) are UP to 6.60% after a steady couple of months in decline.

Average Purchase price to List Price: 102.5% – still a little low for where we’ve been this year. So you’re likely not going to get a big discount on a home, but it was OVER 105% earlier this year. This stat is still good for sellers and shows things getting a little better for buyers.

How are people financing their purchases?

Cash has increased to 14%, Conventional loans are down a little to 71%, FHA has increased to 8% (what a great thing to see for first time buyers!) VA is up slightly to 4%, USDA loans are at 2%, Other 1% (contract for deed?)

One of the most heartening pieces for buyers is that Seller Paid Closing Costs are included 26% of the time – the highest it’s been since March and it looks like these are genuinely being paid by the seller because the Average Purchase price to List price for SPCC included sales is 100% and only 17% of these waived the inspection.

Home Warranties included in the contract are at 8.12%

Purchases Contingent Upon the Sale of the Buyer’s Property: 10.15%

OK – I have been saying every month to avoid this if possible and I still maintain that is the best course of action but the trends don’t lie. Sellers are accepting this more and more.
Thanks for stopping by!

Neighborhood Tours

Hopkins MN

July 30, 2021July 30, 2021 MaryLeave a comment

Want that small town, walkable feel without a major commute? Think about Hopkins!

If you like a small town feel, with easy access to all of the things that the city has to offer – as well as access to the joys of the more rural areas outside of the immediate metro, Hopkins may be for you!

Hopkins MN seems to fly under the radar – it has a tendency to be overlooked, it’s a bit of a small town tucked into a 4 square mile pocket surrounded by the larger, more well known suburbs of Minnetonka, St. Louis Park and Edina. Hopkins sits just west of Minneapolis, it’s a small suburb with only about 18,000 people and it’s part of in Hennepin County MN.

A little bit of Hopkins history – By the 1920s, growing raspberries had become a big business for Hopkins area farmers. It is estimated that at one time the Hopkins area had over 800 acres planted in raspberries! Most were used for fresh market consumption. It became known as the “Raspberry Capital of the World.” Hopkins still celebrates this although now it’s is far from being a farming community – the street signs have a raspberry logo on them and they still hold a festival every year.

I have done a LOT of videos highlighting different suburbs in the twin cities metro – some of them are circled here, but you should check out my neighborhoods and suburbs playlist on YouTube for more.

Commute times and other profiled suburbs

Commute times are easy by car – it is only 3 miles to the border of Minneapolis as it is, but driving to downtown takes approximately 20 minutes via 394, or about 24 minutes to MSP airport via 494.

One of the main things I love about Hopkins is the adorable downtown area. It still has a historic feel, it’s a walkable city with sidewalks in the city center as well as throughout the neighborhoods which have a lot of pretty, older homes in neighborhoods branching out from the main street area. Main street is lined with shops and restaurants, the local library, post office and city hall are in the town center, as well as the Hopkins Center for the Arts.

Hopkins has a nice mix of housing – including single family homes, and newer condos that are close to downtown and transportation. Speaking of transportation – Hopkins Station is right on what will be the newly expanded light rail line. Lots of construction around that and the southern portion of the Cedar Lake Trail which runs along side it right now, but once this is completed it should be a real asset to people that live in Hopkins and want to get downtown to to the airport without driving.

All this charm and convenience and it comes at an affordable price compared to many suburbs in the Twin cities metro area as a whole. Currently (july 2021) Hopkins Median price for a single family home is $353,100 which is just slightly higher than that of the twin cities as a whole. Property tax in Hopkins is a little higher than in some of the other ‘burbs that I have profiled. The effective tax rate is 1.41%

current month’s supply of homes (July 2021) – Seller’s Market

While there is a market in the city of Hopkins it isn’t a giant SUPER market – so if you want to do a bigger shop or have a preference for one of the larger chain super markets like Lunds and Byerlys or Cub, or if you want to get to a whole foods, you’ll have to do it outside of the city of Hopkins – but the surrounding suburbs are very close and you probably won’t be inconvenienced much at all to drive to a neighboring town for groceries.

low angle photography of brown wooden dock at golden house — Photo by Heiner on Pexels.com

It’s not just groceries that require a trip to a neighboring town – Because of it’s small size and easy proximity to it’s neighbors, Hopkins residents share a lot of the amenities offered by the nearby suburbs.

For example, residents of Hopkins use and get resident discounts at Shady Oak Beach and park in Minnetonka. I stopped over there and I was so impressed – it looks like a great place to spend the day playing in the water (they have an inflatable obstacle course that looks like SO much fun!) and if you have little kids there is a playground and areas geared that way as well. In addition to the beach and lake there is a really nice outdoor dining area so you can come and have fun and pack a picnic or order food at the concession stand and stay all day, You can pay by the day or buy a season pass.

Other nearby parks include Lone Lake Park which has tennis & pickle ball courts, a playground, sports fields, picnic area, basketball courts and trails. It is also a part of Minnetonka.

road nature man summer — Photo by Pack2Ride on Pexels.com

Hopkins has several regional trails running through it, so if you enjoy biking, roller blading or walking you’re in luck. There are 4 rail trail connections in Hopkins including the 2 branches of the Cedar Lake Trail, the Lake Minnetonka regional trail (just did an out an back bike ride on this one a couple of weeks ago – 30 relatively flat miles past some gorgeous lake views and through some of the most affluent areas of the Twin Cities Metro) and lastly the Minnesota Bluffs Trail an approximately 10 mile section of aggregate trail that runs south of Lake Minnetonka out to Chanhassen and Chaska.

If you live in Bloomington or just want to bike the south section of the metro you can get on the 9 mile creek regional trail which is both segregated bike trail and some lanes on streets, but it connects from Bloomington (and possibly further east) through Richfield, Edina, Minnetonka and up to Hopkins. I have ridden this one before as well and there are points that I found less than well marked so it’s good to have your phone with you for GPS. The official tally on this one is about 14.6 miles each way, but if you get lost and wander you can really up your mileage. Good times when you’re tired … not.

Hopkins schools are ranked highly on Niche.com with an A+ rating, but as I always mention, make sure you do your own homework and meet with the administrators and make sure that the schools are right for YOUR child. Everyone is different.

Even though Hopkins is smaller, the district boundaries kind of weave their their way through several of the neighboring suburbs and there are some kids that live in pockets of Plymouth, Edina, Eden Prairie, St. Louis Park, and Minnetonka that may attend Hopkins schools. I also did a video on open enrollment in schools in MN, it’s kind of a nice thing to have if you want to send your kid out of district to another school. Not guaranteed, but an option!

This post would not be complete if I didn’t let you know where you can get your eye candy – aka books!

Hopkins has a great library and it is right downtown where you can easily bike or walk to it. It is a part of the Hennepin County Library system, and is one of the 41 branches. If you want a book, they can get it for you! Hennepin county library has a really impressive budget for books – Ive been looking for the actual number but I can’t find it today! I just remember my jaw hitting the floor followed by green with envy feelings and then realizing that I can read any of those books! The HCL system has recently done completely away with fines too! YAY!!

Alright – chickens. I always need to end with chickens and fences.

Chickens are recently permitted in Hopkins – as of August 2020. And fences are allowed – heights vary by where the fence is placed – typically 4′ in front, 6 in back.

Final recommendation: the Hopkins web site is a very nice source of information for just about any question you can think of regarding the day to day details of living in Hopkins.

If Hopkins is in the running for you I strongly recommend check it out!

market updates

Twin Cities housing market update – June & a bit o’ July 2021

July 14, 2021July 14, 2021 MaryLeave a comment

Is the feeding frenzy OVER?!? Not quite, but it seems to be a LOT better? Of course that is relative! and in this case I mean relative to the crazy times we were in in March – May!

In this video and blog post I’m giving you the current conditions of the market for the 7 county Twin Cities area broken down by property type and then I’ll go into a bit about what we see as far as what terms are resulting in accepted offers right now. These are the encouraging signs I’ve been looking for!

This year has definitely been one for the books! It has been the strongest sellers market that anyone I know can remember – and this is AMAZING if you have a home to SELL! Prices are higher than ever and you can dictate the terms for the MOST part – HOWEVER! Buyers! Do not despair! Things ARE getting easier for you now (at least compared to a couple of months ago when it was an all out SCRUM!)

A note about these graphs – I chose to make them show monthly ups and downs without the smoothing effect that softens the seasonal aspects, so keep that in mind as you look at the dips and heights. the market changes constantly, and this shows those changes month to month.

The median SFH price in the Twin Cities sits at $380,000 – that is UP from $326,100 at the beginning of this year.

Median Price TC Metro Single family Homes

You’ll often hear me talk about the “absorption rate” or the # of months supply of housing available to be sold if no other homes were to go on the market. For context it is considered a BALANCED market if there is 5-6 months of supply. We have been UNDER 1 month for different segments of the market for much of this year, mainly anything under about about $600K. Right now we are STILL at .8 months for anything under about $400k. For single family homes in general we are at a little over 1 month’s supply of homes.

Homes are only on the market for FIVE DAYS!!! a year and a half ago it was FOURTY FIVE! And only 6 months ago around 20! So still homes are still flying off the market.

Let’s look at the 2 softer spots – Townhomes and Condos.

The median price for a townhome is consistent with the rest of the market rise in prices and is at $271,000 from $240,000 in January.

For Townhomes there is a little uptick in supply and we have a full month available right now.

Condos! This is the place if you’re looking for any kind of deal! Sellers are negotiating! You can get an INSPECTION! 🙂
Condo prices are at $171,000 for a median price, up a similar amount from the beginning of the year as other property types are.

The supply of condos is where the opportunity comes in – Still a sellers market but for people selling condos it can feel like a whole different world. There are 2.5 months worth of inventory available. This has dropped a small amount since January but has been relatively flat this year overall.

Now let’s look at what kinds of offers are being accepted!

This is a valuable bit of information that the Minnesota Transaction Coordinators gives us on a regular basis and I’ll add my 2 cents to about what I am seeing (although as a much smaller segment of the market)

Offer Acceptance Rate: 42%

Inspections Waived: 31% – we haven’t been in the 30% range since March

My 2 cents: the last 6 contracts (this past month or so) that I have either written or accepted have had inspections included and accepted. that’s 100% of my sales in the past several weeks. I’ve been thrilled for my buyers and I am 100% fine with it for my seller as well because I feel like inspections protect EVERYONE, the buyer, the seller and ME.

Pre-market Sales that happen without hitting the MLS : 2.8%. This is DOWN from earlier this year! It was over 5% for quite a while – maybe due to pandemic fears about having too many people in a home?

Average Purchase to List Price: 102.7% – about the lowest it’s been since the spring market!

Still great for sellers, but also good news for buyers! And a lesson to sellers about pricing appropriately. Things change, you want to not have YOUR home sit because it’s been priced too high as well as understanding that unless you have something really special that the insane bidding wars may be over for now.

I have talked to many agents saying that showings are down from earlier this spring when agents were setting overlapping showings and having the home packed full of people for 12 hours per day. Now there are private showings again. There may be open spaces in the calendar. More than one offer may come in but they aren’t seeing the literal STACKS of offers that they were before.

Financing Types:

Cash 11.5%, which is higher than it’s been

Conventional 68.5%, – a little lower than its been

FHA 8.5%, higher!

VA 3%, Still a rough spot! People that use VA are often choosing it because it is a no downpayment loan, which means they are short on cash. If you can’t make appraisal gap guarantees, or add other sweeteners that need ready cash available this can be a VERY tough time to buy.

USDA 8.5% (this is a high number and I wonder if it is a function of the sample size that they had – if they had 2 transactions it could hit this #). These loans are generally for rural buyers.

Seller Paid Closing Costs: are at 12%

Home Warranties: 5.7% – I was able to negotiate this recently as well!

Contingent Upon the Sale of the Buyer’s Property: 8.5% (this seems HIGH to me! I’m still cautious about having this particular contingency, it can be a real weak spot in an offer if you have any competition at all. I would avoid this at all costs or you may have to make it an offer they can’t refuse due to price, or magically find a seller that wants to stay a little longer.

And that is ALL for this week. I’ll be back next week with some more neighborhood profiles. I’ve been AWOL due to this insane market and actually getting a vacation for the first time in YEARS. No regrets. 😉

See you then!