Are you a prospective or current real estate investor?  Are you a home seller needing to do a short sale? Are you a bank looking for a top REO agent to market your properties? Perhaps you are a first time home buyer or move up buyer looking for someone to trust in this market?

Meet The Minnesota Real Estate Team of RE/MAX Advantage Plus. We are a team of 40 plus real estate agents here to help you with all of your real estate needs.

Tonight, our team learned that we are currently the #7 ranked REMAX real estate team in sales in the entire United States (for January through March 2009 closed sales.)

We take great pride in not only working at our client’s individual pace, but bringing results to our clients as well. Contact our team today at 952-223-1150. We are here to help you with any real estate and mortgage related questions that you may have.

I wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate the members of The Minnesota Real Estate Team for finishing as the top ranked REMAX real estate team in commissions and transactions for 2008.  The final yearly numbers were just realized, and the team was very excited to hear the news. This is now the third year in a row the team has finished #1 for the entire state of Minnesota.

There are a number of agents who had outstanding sales years for the team. Scott Ficek was voted “The 2008 Agent of the Year” by team members, Rob Reinke won the sales volume competition, Kim Dohm the “Rookie of the Year,” and Kevin Curtis sold the most number of homes in 2008.  Mary Alice Short, Jesse Grumdahl, John Stenroos, John Tschida, Jake Bents, Jim Lacher, Bernie Borschke, Ross Lumley and Adam Benedict all had outstanding sales years as well.

Our team has always taken great pride in helping buyers and sellers at their own pace. We believe in a low pressure but informative sales approach. And we too are able to help you whatever your real estate situation may be. Do you need to short sale a property? Are you a first time buyer? Are you an out of state buyer needing a real estate buyer’s agent to search properties and represent you?  Are you a high end seller looking for a marketing campaign second to none? Do you want to invest in real estate or purchase a commercial property?

Regardless of your situation, please let us know how we can help.

Northeast Minneapolis, MN Real Estate Market Update, January 2009

Northeast is a younger area of Minneapolis with Victorian architecture including historic churches, old mills and new and old retail areas. Let’s compare real estate numbers for the month of December 2007 to the month of December 2008. New listings were up 18.9% from 37 to 44 listings this past December. Closed sales were also on the upswing, increasing 18.5% from 27 to 32 closings! The average sales price in Northeast was $137,682, and in December of 2007 it was $175,791. The percent of original list price received continued to be just above 90% at 90.3%. The average days on the market until sale declined from 150 days to 119 days this past year, a decrease of 20.6%. The inventory for single family homes decreased 18.9% from 2007 to 172 homes on the market, and the townhouse-condo inventory also declined 38.3% from 2007. There are currently 29 townhomes-condos available.

Now let’s compare the entire year of 2007 to the entire year of 2008 for Northeast Minneapolis. New listings decreased 16.6%, going from 1,000 in 2007 to 834 new listings in 2008. Closed sales were also down, but only by 7% from 429 to 399. Average sales price in Northeast went from $199,509 to $165,175 in 2008, down 17.2%.  The percent of original list price received at the time of sale did drop 3.5% from 94.6% down to 91.2%.  Hey, it’s still above 90%!! The average days on the market until sale went from 101 days in 2007 to 145 days in 2008.

In conclusion, looking at the year to date numbers in the above paragraph, there were fewer new listings and fewer closings, but in 2008 a much higher percentage of the listings on the market actually closed! The average days on the market until sale in Northeast are among the longest for any of the Minneapolis neighborhoods.

Uptown-Lakes Minneapolis Real Estate Market Update – December, 2008

Uptown is a unique and wonderful section of Minneapolis full of things to do and places to go!  Let’s look at real estate numbers here and see if they are just as wonderful!  First we’ll compare November of 2007 to November of this year.  There were 34.3% fewer new listings put onto the MLS, with 65 new property listings this November.  Closed sales are also down by 57.1% with 42 properties closing November of 2007 compared to only 18 properties closing November of 2008.  The average sales price in the Uptown-Lakes area went from $421,875 to $285,561 and is down 32.3%.  The percent of original list price received at the time of sale is 87.6%, which is down from 95% in November of 2007.  Average days on the market until sale are up 59.7% from last November and are currently 123 days.  There were 134 single family detached homes on the market this year, and 238 townhomes, which are up 42.6% and down 27.2% respectively.

When comparing January through November of 2007 to January through November of 2008, new listings for this part of Minneapolis did drop 27.3%.  Closed sales are down 28.8%.  The average sales price in the Uptown-Lakes area actually stayed pretty level at $379,105, an increase of 1.3%!  Average days on the market are up 34.9%, going from 92 to 124 days.  The percent of original list price received at the time of sale decreased 4%, going from 96.4% in 2007 compared to 92.5% in 2008.

Uptown is a highly sought after place to live, or even to hang out!  Looking at these statistics, it seems more people are currently staying put which is odd considering the average sales price actually increased over last year!  However, the average days on market going up and closed sales going down could be discouraging.  If you’re looking to buy a home in the Uptown area, now is the time! We have a number of agents on our team who know this part of the Minneapolis real estate market well!

I hope everyone is having an outstanding Holiday Season!

Today let’s take a look at the most recent update for the Southwest portion of the Minneapolis real estate market.

When comparing November of 2007 to November of 2008, there was a drop of 5.6% in new MLS listings that were put onto the market. Closed home sales in this part of Minneapolis also did drop from 56 closings in November of 2007 to 26 closings here in November of 2008.  The average sales price for a home in Southwest Minneapolis dropped from $395,136 to $321,836. This is a 18.6% year over year decrease.  The percent of original list price received at the time of sale dropped from 92.7% to 90.8%.

Average days on market for a property in this part of Minneapolis rose from 96 days to 131 days. This is a 36.6% increase. In November of 2008, there were 245 active single family homes for sale on the MLS in Southwest Minneapolis.  Lastly, there were 42 condos and townhomes for sale. This was a 44% increase from the active condo and townhome listings for sale in November of 2007.

Now let’s take a quick look at January through November of 2007 compared to January through November of 2008.  New listings of homes, condos, and townhomes for sale on the MLS in this part of Minneapolis have been down 15.3% here this year.  Closed sales are down 20.5% this year, with 633 properties closing thus far. The average sales price is down 7.6% this year at $337,774. Average days on market is up from 101 to 118 days this year. This is a 16.5% year over year increase.

In conclusion, southwest Minneapolis certainly has not been immune to the overall real estate conditions here in the Twin Cities. Thankfully, new listings have been down this year, and the average sales price, though it has dropped, is not down nearly as much as other sections of Minneapolis.

Southwest continues to offer a number of awesome homes for sale.  And of course some great condos, lofts, and townhomes as well. If you are a buyer, there certainly has not been a better time to be looking in recent history.

Our team, The Minnesota Real Estate Team, has a couple agents on the team that do alot of work in this area of Minneapolis.  Let us know how we can help you with your real estate needs!

We are extremely excited to have put together a top, top collection of all of the various minneapolis lofts for sale here in our market. With the vast number of properties that are still available for sale, buyers are being afforded some just all around outstanding choices.

And of course with sellers being so motivated in this “buyer’s market,” buyers are finding prices at almost historical lows.

With any type of condo or loft purchase however, it is crucial to have your real estate agent take a close look with you at the association documents. With each purchase, you as the buyer are given time to review all of these documents as well as the financials of the association. Please be sure to take time to look closely through the numbers to ensure that you are not buying a condo or loft in an association with financial problems.

With that being said, our minneapolis real estate market is one that is creating so many outstanding buying opportunities. Of course sellers are still able to sell, however, many sellers are forced to compete with the vast number of bank owned and short sale listings that are on the MLS as well. And many of these properties are at very, very low price points.

With each week that passes, we are seeing more and more homes go pending, that is, accept an offer. And there have been fewer properties coming onto the market. This certainly bodes well for our market indeed. By no means are we back to balanced market, however, we are definitely heading in the right direction.

If you have interest in learning more about our real estate market here in Minnesota, check out our weekly radio show, The Minnesota Real Estate Show, Saturdays, 3-5 PM on 100.3 KTLK, FM.

We enjoy bringing any and all types of real estate and mortgage information to all of the listeners here in our real estate market!

North Minneapolis has become a hot investor market with all of the foreclosures in this area. Let’s look at real estate numbers for that neighborhood of Minneapolis. Comparing November of 2008 to November of 2007, there have been 26.7% less homes put onto the market. Closed sales this November are up 229.4% with 56 properties closing. The average sales price is down 37.8%, going from $83,993 to $52,265. The average days on market in North Minneapolis are down 25.6%, from 186 days last November to 138 days this November. There were 284 active single family homes for sale in November of 2008, compared to 434 actives in November of 2007.

When comparing January through November 2007 to January through November 2009, closed sales are up by 100.9%, from 343 sales in 2007 to 689 closings in 2008. The average sales price declined by 40.2%, going from $102,885 in 2007 all the way down to $61,541 in 2008. Average days on the market are down 13.%, from 171  days to 148 days this year. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale remains constant at 85.4% this year (was 84.8% last year so certainly getting a bit better!).

North Minneapolis in the past has not had the best reputation. However, investors are buying a ton of foreclosures in the area, rehabbing them, and renting or reselling them. As a result, the closed sales numbers are so much higher this year. Also, the fact that sales prices are way down means that the investor buyer is really having a “hey day” right now.  Many of the homes require so much work that the average buyer is moving on to other neighborhoods and other homes in Minneapolis. One last thought: with fewer homes coming onto the market, that could mean that there are fewer foreclosures as time goes on. This all certainly bodes well for North Minneapolis

As investors, be sure to check out our monthly investment property seminars offered. All of our seminars are free of charge, and we explore really any and all sorts of investment property topics.

The Minneapolis real estate market surely is seeing some positive signs here in the last few months. Less and less homes have been coming onto the market, more properties are going pending, and the overall inventory of homes for sale has been declining.

Over the last few months, trends show that new listings coming onto the market here in the Twin Cities have continually decreased. The increase in pending sales and decline in overall listing inventory has also been steadier compared to last year. In the previous year, new listings coming onto the market had varied significantly, from 1700 to 2100 and down to 1600 all in one month’s time!  Typically, the winter months are slower with a smaller number of homes for sale and pending sales, and each year the real estate market peaks in the summer months.  Here in our market, pending sales are also on a decline for the last few months. However, they have certainly increased over last year’s numbers. Last week, pending sales were up 74.5% over Thanksgiving week from 2007, and almost every week for the last 3 months, with an exception of one, we had an increase over last year. Current inventory of homes for sale in the Minneapolis and St Paul metro area is 27,733.  Looking at overall trends of inventory is quite interesting. This year and last have almost the exact same “slope” throughout the year; however this year’s inventory is consistently 10% lower than last.  Looking at 2004 through 2008, each year, the inventory of total homes for sale gets progressively higher going from an average of around 17,000 in 2004, all the way to an average of around 30,000 in 2008.

Other interesting trends: the days on market until sale have started to decline, being the highest at the start of 2008 at about 165 days, and now at the close of 2008, the average days on market are down to 140. Still high but promising to see that trend occurring.  In addition, the current supply of homes is 12.06 houses per buyer.

If you are a buyer here in the Minneapolis area, there has almost never been a better time.  Sellers, remember price and condition remain paramount in our real estate marketplace.

Have you ever considered the idea of living in a condo or a loft in downtown Minneapolis? I know often times my wife and I have mentioned how much we would like living downtown. It may seem obvious to some, but in today’s blog post, I wanted to take a look at some of the positives and negatives that may be associated with downtown loft and condo living.

On a positive side, most of the lofts and condos in Minneapolis are certainly updated and trendy. We’re talking new fixtures, top of the line appliances, newer countertops. Really overall, you are looking a property with a lot of “new” and trendy. Compared to that 1950s rambler in Golden Valley you are living in, you are probably dealing with less maintenance with your loft.  In addition, there is the night life aspect. Perhaps you and your significant other enjoy heading downtown to listen to the Minnesota Orchestra? Maybe you like going over to the Fine Line Café to listen to the latest band here in the Twin Cities? Imagine how convenient it would be to have short five minute drive over to that entertainment or sporting event.

Within each of these outstanding buildings, you will find various amenities. The joys of having your own workout room or club right in your building! No more bundling up and driving a few miles over to the health club!!

On the other hand, parking may be an issue. Most of the various buildings in and around the city have parking within, but be sure to know how many parking spaces are offered with the property you may be looking to purchase. More often than not, it does clearly list how many spaces are included on the MLS.  In addition, forget taking your pooch right outside into your backyard at your nice rambler out in Bloomington.  Many buildings do in fact accept pets, however realize it could be a hike just to take Spot outside.

And of course there are the association fees with a condo. As a real estate buyer in today’s market, be sure you know what your association fee includes and what it does not include.

In conclusion, there is certainly no “one size fits all” when it comes to this type of decision. But right now, if you like what this lifestyle does in fact offer, there are a number of outstanding lofts, condos for sale in Minneapolis for buyers to choose from!