Minnetonka Real Estate Agent Marketing 

Do you dream of a home that is a peaceful suburban oasis yet near a vibrant urban center? You can have it all when you purchase this outstanding 4000 square foot two-story Minnetonka home nestled into idyllic landscaped surroundings.

This elegant, graceful residence features spacious living areas soaked in sunlight. The flow of indoor and outdoor spaces is seamless and ideally suited to entertaining friends and family. The resort-style backyard with an inground pool is fenced-in for privacy. 

A Minnetonka Home for All Seasons

During the summer, enjoy the backyard sanctuary and luxury of your heated pool. Relax on one of two decks and enjoy dining al fresco.

In the evening or the high heat of the day, relax on the screened-in porch. When fall descends on Minnetonka and the nights turn chilly, sit around the fire pit with a glass of vino or your favorite local brew....

Minneapolis-St Paul Housing Data

As we say adios to 2018 and move into the new year, expectations include some long-awaited changes. In the last half of the year, we saw increases in new listings, decreases in sales, and median sales prices on homes rising more slowly.

The increases we are experiencing in no way are enough to balance the market at the lower pricing tiers. However, first-time buyers and downsizing boomers will begin to find more home buying options in the coming year. That fact alone will make buyers smile.

A Look at December Housing Numbers

Looking at a comparison of December 2018 to the same time last year, we see new listings up 3.5 percent, closed sales down 9.9 percent, list price received down 0.2 percent, and the median sale price of $258,000 up 4 percent. Pending sales showed a decline of 3.3 percent, while the month’s supply of inventory rose 13.3 percent. Days on the market decreased by 6.6 percent.

What story do these numbers tell us about the housing market in Minneapolis and Saint Paul? Pretty good news. We are finally starting to see more housing choices at lower pricing levels. Sellers are more flexible when they receive less than full-price offers. This situation takes some pressure off of buyers.

Sellers also have reason to smile. Property values continue to rise, with median sales prices up 4% over December 2017. Additionally, sales of homes are still brisk as we see days on the market...

The Minneapolis-St Paul Housing Market Overview

As we look at the Twin Cities Housing Market Statistics for the first month of the final quarter of 2018 the one thing that hasn’t changed for months is the shortage of properties for sale in the lower end of the market. With so few homes that fit their budget, coupled with rising home prices and interest rates, would-be buyers continue to struggle with fulfilling their dream of ownership. Homes at this price range are still selling quickly, but we are finally starting to see that shift we have been talking about, in market conditions overall as we look at narrowing gaps in year over year data for sales, inventory, and price.

What’s Up Doc?

As we compare October of this year to October 2017, we find new listings up 9.2 percent, closed sales rose 3.4 percent, the percentage of list price received up 0.2, and the median sale price of $265,000 up 8.6 percent. Meanwhile, pending sales were down 1.7 percent, inventory levels dropped 2.2 percent, days on the market fell 7.7 percent. In summary, in the Twin Cities 16 county metro at least, we are still experiencing fewer homes on the market taking less time to sell with prices even on an upward trajectory.

What About the Economy?

Our local economy remains strong. The unemployment rate for October in the Twin...

How Top Minnetonka Agent Sold this Single Family Home

If you are looking for a great family home in a sought after community with excellent schools we have the perfect choice for you. Consider this gracious and elegant three bedrooms three bath residence in Minnetonka. With 2376 square feet of living space this traditionally styled two story home not only fits the needs of a family but is also the perfect setting for entertaining.

Prepare to be inspired by classic style with undertones of warmth and contemporary elegance. From your first glimpse, it is obvious this home is meticulous. We are very impressed, and you will be too! 

Outstanding Location

Sitting on a private and wooded hilltop at the dead end of a private road is one of the many features that make this stately home an exceptional choice...

Success-driven Home Selling 

Most people have two primary goals when they sell their home. These are to sell quickly at the best price possible. Both are attainable and if your location is TheTwin Cities metro and your home value is under $500,000, the market favors you in a big way.  

However, please do not think that you will achieve these goals if you ignore the basic rules of how to prepare to sell your home. If you want multiple offers and you want them in the first few days of listing you need to accept the fact that preparation is necessary.  If your home’s list price is in the higher tiers, it becomes even more critical.  

Convinced?  Fabulous! Here are my ten commandments of home selling. Follow these, and you will present your home at its finest. 

Clutter is not aesthetically appealing. It makes your home look messy and lacking in storage space. The goal is to go through every closet, cabinet, drawer and storage space from basement to attic. Don’t forget the garage and any outbuildings as well. Everything you decide you do not need should be for sale, consignment, donation or disposal.

For some, this step is no big deal, and for others, this is...

Sell Your Home When The Time Is Right For You

It’s no surprise that many people advocate that the best time to sell a home is in the Spring. Part of the reason this theory has evolved is that families want to be established in their new homes by the beginning of the school year in September. While this does make sense for families with children, when it comes to when to put your home on the market there are no one-size fits all scenarios. 

Even though Spring may be considered prime time for home sales by many in the industry, there is no perfect time for everyone. Every situation is different, and when you are personally ready to sell, that becomes the best season for you. However, there is one piece of home-selling wisdom that is always true no matter what time of year you sell.

Can you guess that one sliver of home-selling wisdom?  It’s the preparation of your home to look its best in winter, spring, summer or fall. Making an outstanding first impression on buyers will determine how quickly you sell and how high a price you obtain. A home that is move-in ready will face a cleaner offer with fewer if any contingencies. Even in this strong seller’s market, we find ourselves in right now, the condition and appearance of your home do matter.

It makes the most sense to take the time to get your home in tip-top shape for the fussiest of fussy buyers. If you think your house is nearly...

The Twin Cities Housing Market Snapshot

Many consider March to be the kick-off month for the busiest Real Estate season, spring. The market experienced a slight cooling with pending and closed sales both down. Interest rates have climbed and been hovering around 4.5% which is the highest they have been since 2013. Buyers may be taking a breath, and holding back again to re-evaluate and rethink their strategy. They may be considering the options of paying more each month or settling for less house.

Still, days on the market continue to decline, homes are still being sold at asking price or above, and the median sale price up 9.8% over last year. Inventory of homes, however, continues to shrink. Inventory declined 26.1%. Sellers continue to play it coy with new listings also down 17.5%. These numbers seem to indicate that the slowdown in sales is more the result of low supply rather than a lack of enthusiasm on the demand side of the equation.

The good news is that...

January Twin Cities Housing Inventory Sinks Lower

We are now several years into a housing market where buyer demand is strong and inventory of homes for sale is limited and ever shrinking. This buying mania has been fueled largely by a strong economy with low unemployment, a robust stock market, and historically low mortgage interest rates. In addition, the high cost of renting has made owning a home the best option in the Twin Cities, as well as a wise financial decision. It was the strong incentive many first time home buyers needed to get off the fence and pursue the American dream of homeownership.  And chase that dream they did!

Buying vs Renting Pros and Cons

We just capped off a record-breaking year for real estate. The story for 2017 was powerful across the nation. In the Twin Cities, the median sales price reached an all-time high. Closed sales broke a twelve-year record high even with inventory levels at a 15 year low. There were lots of reasons for sellers to celebrate. Homes for sale spent less time on the market with full price offers the norm. The market was rocking and tenacious buyers were the rocket fuel that propelled it.

As we look at the first month of the brand new year, January...

December Housing Inventory Took a Nosedive as Home Values Soared

The relentless story of happy sellers and frustrated buyers continues.  This was especially true in December. Inventory levels plummeted 27.5% over last December and month’s supply dipped to 31.6%. With the ever-shrinking availability of homes to purchase under $500K, the dream of homeownership remains elusive for many first time buyers.

Although mortgage interest rates remained steady at about 4% in the last half of the year, the high demand coupled with low inventory situation caused median sales prices to rise higher. This forced some buyers to adjust their expectations of how much house they could afford. 

While year-end market conditions were a nemesis for buyers, sellers had a lot of reasons to celebrate. Homes spent less time on the market with full price offers the norm. Bidding wars on very desirable homes brought in offers above ask price.

What was up and what was down in December this year vs. last year? Inventory, sales and days on market decreased with the median sale price increasing 10%.

...

Our Favorite Blog Posts of 2017

It’s that time again. As we say goodbye to the old year and look ahead to 2018 with great expectations it is always worthwhile to reflect on the last 12 months and review the work accomplished with some satisfaction. On Our Twin Cities Home Blog, we try to bring you the best information we can find on everything real estate from buying and selling a home to living well in our vibrant and beautiful Twin Cities Metro.

As we look forward to more good work this year we’d like to share some of our favorite posts with you again. So without further ado, here is what we think deserves a second look before we close the books and begin the first chapter of the brand new year!

Linda’s Favorites

The Minnesota Property Group A Twin Cities Success Story

Has a year really passed since I wrote this one? It was one of my favorites because I am proud to work with Joe all 365 days of the year. He has a great real estate story and a great philosophy on how he approaches real estate so I felt it appropriate to tell it one more time.  

Passive Savings -  Like Giving Yourself a Raise

Saving more money is a popular new year’s resolution for many people. Well, it just so happens we know a little about that here at the Minnesota Property Group. When I started researching the topic of how to save, it got me thinking of other ways that you could do it without feeling the pain or strain of giving up stuff you like.  I...

October Twin Cities Housing Market

As we approach the end of the year, it appears that the Twin Cities housing market story for 2017 is pretty much repeating the theme of strong and persistent demand for housing with an ever-shrinking supply of homes to buy below $500,000.  We shouldn’t be surprised at the continuation of this trend when we look at interest rates and our local economy.

The 30-year mortgage interest rate dipped from 4.3% to 3.9%, an amazing bargain when you consider the long-term average rate is 8%. While nationally the unemployment rate is 4.1, in our own Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro it is 2.9, the third lowest metro unemployment rate in the country. Our thriving economy is diverse and vibrant, our workforce talented, our schools first-rate and with a robust arts community and 4-season recreation options makes our quality of life second to none. It’s no wonder we have one of the highest homeownership scores in the nation.

As we take a closer look at the statistics for October this year versus last year, we find new listings increased 3.1% although inventory of homes available fell a whopping 18%. This puts the month's supply of inventory at 2.2 which is 18.5% lower than last year. An undeterred 4994 buyers closed on a home last month, up 0.3% and pending sales were also up 3.9% from same time last year. Homes sold faster for more money, selling on an average of 52 days compared to 61 while...

Should I Buy a Home This Winter or Wait for Spring?

If you are a Twin Cities’ buyer that missed out on snaring a deal this past spring or summer, you might be asking yourself, your family, your friends and your realtor whether or not you should keep your search ongoing or simply hunker down for the winter months and venture forth again when the forsythia bloom.  Maybe you just started the process and are thinking of putting it on hold until the new year arrives or wondering if there is an advantage to staying the course.  As a realtor, I can tell you that I am being asked that question from many of my clients, especially the first time buyers.

Because everyone has a story and no personal situation is exactly the same, there is no right or wrong answer. But generally speaking, I tell my buyers that nobody is too cool for thermal underwear in Minnesota. Let’s get some and keep looking for that home. Patience is a virtue and tenacity pays off in the end. 

To those just getting started in the process, if you have your pre-approval letter in hand start your search and if not get that preliminary work completed and then press go! Now before you get out your list of 7 reasons why you shouldn’t go out in the cold, here are my 7 reasons why house hunting this winter...

Top Wayzata Realtor Sold this Magical Wayzata MN House

 Wayzata MN Homes Like This Sell Quickly. 

Tucked away on an idyllic wooded lot in a cozy corner of Wayzata is our newest listing. If you are looking for a great family home that is close to all the city has to offer yet located in a community with a small town feel and a nationally recognized school system we have the perfect choice for you. Consider this gracious and elegant 5 bedroom 3 bath residence. This outstanding home offers 2360 square feet of living space with keynotes of elegant simplicity and peaceful serenity creating its signature ambiance....

August Twin Cities Housing Market Episode – Another Rerun!  

Most of us want to see a new episode of The Twin Cities Housing Saga but I am afraid August is another rerun. Over the course of the last 3 years the dominant theme of the housing story in Minneapolis-St. Paul is an ever-shrinking inventory and rising prices. Sellers have been in their glory days while buyers, facing a highly competitive marketplace, have struggled to close a deal month after month with a couple of variations. We’ll talk about these later in this post. Like most of the country, here in the Twin Cities metro inventories continue to shrink while prices continue to move upward. As long as the economy continues to grow and add jobs and interest rates remain low there is no reason to believe this market situation is going to change course anytime soon.

A deeper dive into the numbers for August of this year versus last year reveals new listings increased  7% while the inventory of homes available for sale fell 16.7% from 15,137 in 2016 to 12,206 this year. The month's supply of inventory remained at 2.5. but compared to last year, it dropped 16.7%. Lucky buyers in the metro successfully purchased 6513 homes but they were not quite as fortunate as buyers in August of last year when 6,606 home sales closed. Additionally, this year buyers paid 6.8% more when you compare median sales prices in the Twin Cities last August.  ...

Twin Cities Housing Market 

The Twin Cities housing market story for July in Minneapolis-St. Paul is much the same as it has been month over month for a couple of years. For sellers, it’s celebration and uncorking the champagne bottle and for buyers, it is a test of fortitude and commitment to home ownership. The Twin Cities is following a national trend of the past two years where inventory continues to shrink and median sale price continues to increase. How long this market is sustainable, is anyone’s guess but with unemployment holding at 4.3 percent the demand to purchase a home remains high. 

A look at the numbers for July has available homes for sale at 12,407 which is a drop of 18.3% from July of 2016. The month's supply of inventory sits at 2.5 compared to 3.1 last year same time, a 19.4% decline. Buyers in the Twin Cities closed on 6,020 homes, 2.6% less than July 2016 at 6,128. Declining inventory, pending sales, closed sales and days on market was half the story, the other half being an increase in median sale price, of $254,000 up 5.9% over last year, the percentage of list price received at 99.2 representing a gain of 0.8% over July of last year. 

Maybe you remember the old children’s game of musical chairs that was once popular at birthday parties. When the music stopped, the small humans who were left without a seat were out of the game. This is the current market situation. There is simply...

June Housing - Different Month, Same Story

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Housing Market story for June continues with a theme that we know well. Even though available homes for sale fell 16.5% compared to June 2016, closed sales rose 2.2%, reaching a record high of 7,430 units sold. Home prices also continue their upward trend with the median sales price also reaching a new high of $259,000, 7% over same time last year.

The only factor keeping this market from breaking out is the low inventory levels.  Short supply has kept some wanna-be buyers sitting on the sidelines and those actively engaged in the hunt and search for a home are being seriously challenged by the amount of competition for properties.  Multiple offers for desirable properties are the norm with days on market at 47 down 16.1%. Percentage of list price received is 99.5 over 98.7 last June, an increase of 0.8%.

Twin Cities Metro Housing Quick Stats

• Exceptional demand and restrained inventory levels continue to dominate the market
• The shortage of available homes puts more upward pressure on home values
• ...

May Housing For the Twin Cities In Two Words – Extremely Competitive

The story for May housing in the Twin Cities is one we have told over and over for months. With the supply of inventory 17.3% lower than last year, it’s about a tale of heavy buyer demand and intense competition to secure a deal on a home. This extraordinary sales activity in the face of an extremely challenging playing field for buyers is continuing to fuel this market causing home values to rise and properties to close in record time. In addition, with the average sale price at 99.5% of ask, that means approximately 50% of homes are getting sold for list price or above. 

As is characteristic of any market where supply falls short of demand, home prices are rising. The median sales price for May was $250,000 up 5.5% over same time last year with the average sale price up 6.3% at $294,243. Strongest sales were in the below $250,000 category, making the market most especially difficult for first-time home buyers. The market segment with the strongest sales was townhomes. 

New listings for in the Twin Cities for May were up slightly by 0.7%, pending sales down 3.1% and inventory levels fell 17.3%.  The supply of homes for sale sat at 2.3 months down 20.7% compared to May 2016.  The bright spot on the supply...

The Twin Cities Spring Housing Market April Review 

Market snapshot: Spring in Minneapolis-St. Paul and the theme of the housing market story is home buyers as plentiful as mushrooms after a spring shower and “home for sale” signs as rare as dinosaur fossils. Okay, I admit I am exaggerating slightly about the for sale signs but for many buyers, especially in the lower price ranges, it sure feels that way.

New Listings in the Twin Cities were down 8.3 percent compared to April of last year causing inventory levels to fall 19.8 percent with 10,916 homes available in all categories. Values continue to gain momentum with medium sale prices steadily inching upward with days on the market going in the other direction.  The month's supply of homes was down 21.4 percent at 2.2 months and needless to say, sellers were quite happy. The short supply of inventory has caused closed and pending sales to be down from last April’s numbers.

Even though most decent properties that are priced to market are selling above list, quickly and with multiple offers, so far buyer demand remains incredibly strong. Even though many first timers have lost out on several properties they hang in there. In the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro, this demand is reflective of a strong labor market, interest...

New Month - Same Story for Twin Cities Housing

Market snapshot: What’s up? Sales, home values, ask price, the percentage of list price received, new listings and closed sales. What’s down? Pending sales, days on market, available homes for sale, and month’s supply of inventory. I’m starting to feel like the proverbial broken record but I’m just telling the story not creating it. With the inventory of available housing at a record 14 year low, this market continues to be an extremely challenging one for buyers, especially in the lower price ranges.

Spring is the strongest season for real estate and based on the figures we have in for March it is going to be a great one for sellers as buyers continue to face a landscape of low inventory of homes for sale with transactions completed in less time for a greater percentage of asking price received. Buyers will find it necessary to move quickly with their best offer if they want a chance at closing a deal. So far buyers have proven they are willing to do just that and although interest rates bobbed up along with prices, they have persisted.

As we barrel ahead through the spring don’t expect the situation to change much provided that the economy keeps on chugging along like the little engine that could. As long as consumers continue to have confidence in the economy and job growth...