Minnesota Realtor

Key #1 when selling your home: Curb appeal counts. Most buyers want a home that looks great on the outside. Its all about perception. If it looks good from the outside, it probably means the home is ready for a new owner without a lot of hassle or cost. Buyers tend to pass on a home that does not look good from the street, maybe not even bothering to look inside. Make sure your home has great curb appeal to attract great buyers!

Don’t be afraid to buy home remodeling supplies online.  Everything is sold online, even the kitchen sink.  And a lot of times it is 10% to 25% less than a local store.  Before ordering online make sure to go to a store and actually see the product.  You want to know what you are buying.  Also order early enough so if the product is delayed or damaged you have time to order a new one and not hold up the remodel process.

Are you looking to do some remodeling in your home?  Look at hiring professionals during their slow times.  Put in a furnace in the summer, Redo a bathroom or kitchen in the winter.  A lot of times they will give you a 10% to 15% savings to get your business.

With the housing market in Minnesota, Bank owned properties continue to play a big role in the market.  With homes listed under $200k short sales and bank owned make up a lot of the active listings.  And many of these active listings do have an offer on them and they are just waiting for bank approval.  Many times there is only one offer sent to the bank, so if your offer is not first you would just be a back up offer.  You would need to wait to see if the first offer was rejected.  Even if the offer is rejected the bank will usually give a counter offer to the first offer.  Then if the buyers that made the first offer do not accept the counter offer, then you will have your chance at the home.

The National Association of Realtors released its pending home sales index a couple of days ago and they say that for the second week in a row that the index is up.  This is very good for the housing market.  This does not come as too big a suprise though since house prices are low, inventory is up, and interest rates are at an all time low.

The housing market in Minnesota continues to move, even though at a slow pace.  Short Sales and Foreclosures continue to dominate the market, especially for homes valued at $200k or less.  Home prices fell around 2% last year, but there is less inventory in the market.  I feel that with all the bank owned homes on the market and no idea how many there are still to come we still will not have a good handle on how long this current market will last.  Home ownership is still a good long term investment.  If you are looking only to live somewhere for 2 years, renting could be a good option.

Pricing your home correctly has become a very important part of a successful home sale.  No longer can you list your home at a high price, knowing that it is high and then keep dropping it until it sells.   Your best possible buyers will come through in the first 2 weeks.  If they don’t feel like they are getting a good value right away they might not be back, even when the price drops.  Buyers want a home that is desired by themselves, and other potential buyers.  Good buyers are  very aware that they might have to resell the home in the future.  If no one wants to buy it today, they might not want to buy it in the future.

Looking to buy or sell a home in Minnesota?  You will probably have to deal with foreclosures in either case.  If you are buying, some of the properties that you are viewing might be foreclosures.  If you are selling, you will probably be competing with homes that are in foreclosure or are bank owned.

If  a home is bank owned that means that there is no longer an old owner is living in the home.  As a buyer you are only dealing with the bank.  The bank owns it.  No one else to deal with.  With a short sale, you are dealing with the homeowner and the banks.  That is why the process can take longer.

If you buy a minnesota short sale or foreclosure, you will get a good price. If you have any questions call a Minnesota Realtor

Foreclosures for Minnesota homes continue to play a big part in the market.  If you are a traditional seller you are now competing with foreclosures and short sales.  The foreclosures and short sales are usually listed for and will accept a lower price than traditional sellers.  Traditional sellers a lot of times need to sell the home for a higher price becuase they owe money to the bank, and need that extra money to completly pay the bank off.  Paying a higher price is not always bad though.  A lot of times these non foreclosure homes are in better shape than the short sale or foreclosure homes.

For a traditional seller to get the most for their home they need to price it right from the beginning.  The thought that they will list it high and drop it later does not work.  Buyers will not go through the home at the high price, and if they do if they go though once they will probably not come back through a second time, even if the house is lowered in price.  Some buyers think that if no one else wants it, they don’t want it either. Potential buyers are now aware that they are not  only buying the house for themselves, they want to make sure that when they want to sell, they will also be able to sell it.  If a lot of people don’t want it now, why would they want it in the future.

So sellers make sure that you put your best foot forward right away.  The first couple of showings that you have might be your only buyer, and you want them to love it right away.

The housing market in Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area continue to be slow.  There are houses selling, which is always a good sign.  There are not a lot of new listing on the market because the prices continue to be low.  Short Sales and Foreclosures continue to dominate the market and there continue to be new listings because of the financial hardship of the sellers.  There seem to be less “traditional” sellers.  Traditional sellers are the sellers that are not in foreclosure or do not owe more to the bank than it is worth, and then would have to do a short sale.  On all MLS listings now in the twin cities there are sections that are filled out that answers the questions whether or not the home is in foreclosure, or if they are bank owned, or if there is a possibility if there could be a short sale.  You can ask your Minnesota Realtor to let you know if a house that you are interested in could be a short sale or if it is in foreclosure, or if it is bank owned.  Until all of the short sales and foreclosures are sold and homeowners no longer need to sell there home in a short sale, the short sale process needs to be considered for all buyers.  There are good deals that can be had if you can wait through the short sale or foreclosure process, but be ready to wait and be patient.