Thursday, January 23, 2014

Local Market Updates

The years of 2012 and 2013 are going to be noted as a period of recovery for housing, and 2014 should prove to be more of the same but perhaps with not as much force. As we begin to look for signs of a stabilized residential real estate market, we may see fewer sales than in recent years, but these sales should be of a higher quality in that they will have been made with stronger lending standards to people with stronger jobs in a stronger economy. Even this early in the year, we should begin to see signs of new inventory coming onto the market with a more balanced months' supply of inventory and well-paced market times. In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending January 11: • New Listings decreased 14.6% to 958 • Pending Sales decreased 19.5% to 556 • Inventory decreased 9.8% to 11,810 For the month of December: • Median Sales Price increased 13.1% to $190,000 • Days on Market decreased 20.4% to 86 • Percent of Original List Price Received increased 1.0% to 94.7% • Months Supply of Inventory decreased 15.6% to 2.7%
-From Minneapolis Association of Realtor

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Real Estate Investing in Minneapolis

As prices keep coming down, it's been a great market for investors. This is the best time to invest in real estate. A lot of distress sales. There are about 5 out of 10 homes on the market are distressed. Because there's so many of these types of properties on the market,it's driving down the price. If the price is under $150,000, it's a seller's market. There's more buyers in this price range. If a seller has his short sale on the market for months without an offer, they will purposely reduce their price well below market to create multiple offers. Multiple offers drive up the price so in doing that, it actually make people outbid each other and the sold price ended up being higher than the list price. It's not a bad strategy for the seller. Northeast Minneapolis is becoming a nice place to start investing. There's not a lot of duplexes and other multi-family units for sale there. If you're looking to buy a duplex, Northeast Minneapolis is great place to start. Many renters are flocking there to live. That makes it very attractive.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Why Invest In Real Estate?

Most millionaires have a significant portion – if not the majority of their wealth in real estate.
Real estate is always in demand because no matter what happens to the world in terms of politics or economics, people will need places to live, businesses will need places to operate, governments will need places to function. Below are 5 points as to why you should invest in real estate.

1. FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
Most of your income comes from passive sources so you don’t work if you don’t want to.
For you, financial independence might be $1,500 per month
It’s not how much you make, it’s what you do with it that counts!
If you earn $1 million and spend $1.2 million, you don’t have wealth. If you are using credit to buy depreciating assets like clothes, cars, jewelry, or anything else that goes down in value, you’re digging yourself into a hole that can be very hard to get out of.
Not all debt is bad. When you use debt to buy things that increase in value and generate profits, you are thinking and operating like a wealthy person. The idea is to spend as much of your money as possible (after you pay for your necessities) on appreciating assets: assets such as real estate or any business that will go up in value and generate profits. Then you can afford to buy depreciating assets because you can afford to buy them with cash.

2. THE LAW OF LEVERAGE
Investing in stocks or bonds requires a lot of cash. Investing in real estate will require a lot less.
What other assets can you think of where banks will lend even close to 100% of the value of the asset and you still make all the profit?

3. MANAGEMENT
You don’t have to quit what you’re doing to start making big money in real estate. Most people start part-time. As an investment, real estate completely puts you in the driver’s seat. When you buy stocks, you don’t have control – you’re investing your money in a company, but its officers and directors will decide how the company will operate.

When you buy precious metals, gems or collectibles, you’re at the mercy of the market.
But when you invest in real estate, you have control. You make the decisions. You make the money.

Think about it this way: if someone offered to pay your mortgage for a year and all you needed to do was invest 40 hours a year into maintaining and managing the property, you would do it wouldn’t you? Of course you would.

I. It gives you the right amount of control over your destiny.
II. It’s a turn-key management style. You can easily hire someone to fulfill necessary duties or subcontract out the tasks.
III. It’s not very “paperwork intensive”
IV. Great court system in place to handle disputes.

4. TAX SAVINGS
There are some great ways to avoid income taxes with your real estate investing.
1. Depreciation, interest, and expense deductions.
2. 1031 Exchanges.

Consult with your tax advisor because everyone's situation is different.

5. PREDICTABILITY
In Hennepin County, Minnesota has averaged a 6.43% decrease in value per year over the last 5 years. See the table below.

Average Sale Price in Hennepin County

Quarter,Yr Avg. Sale Price Price Change
Q 4, 2006 $305,300 --------
Q 4, 2007 $301,800 -1.18%
Q 4, 2008 $251,800 -16.57%
Q 4, 2009 $224,000 -11.04%
Q 4, 2010 $233,400 +4.03%
Q 2, 2011 $216,100 -7.41%

However, from 1980 to 2001, the value of real estate has been consistently rise for an average of 6% per year nationwide. Since 2006, the value has decrease, we can safely predict that the value will decrease for another few more years. Overall, the last 200 years, the value of real estate national has steadily increase.

Real estate value has been decreasing since 2006. Also, the mortage rates are in the 5's and lower. Take advantage of the lower prices and low interest rates. The rental market is also very strong here in the Twin Cities. There's never been a better time to buy real estate than now.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

10 Things Not To Do When Purchasing a Home

There are several actions a mortgage professional will advise
you not to take before and during your home loan process.
1. Do not look for a home without being preapproved.
2. Do not suddenly pay off debts and collections or close accounts.
3. Do not apply for new credit cards.
4. Do not change jobs or change your pay structure at your current job.
5. Do not consolidate bills.
6. Do not make non-payroll related deposits into your bank account without keeping copies of checks.
7. Do not pack the documents needed during the loan process. These include W-2 forms, tax returns, bank statements, pay stubs, etc.
8. Do not choose a mortgage without researching all the different types.
9. Do not shop for, lease or purchase a car or other type of vehicle.
10.Do not incur more debt by making large purchases such as appliances.

By following the advice of your home loan professional, you will be on your way to obtaining the best terms and interest rates possible – as well as a smooth, on-time closing. If you must take one of these actions, it is wise to discuss this with your loan officer. We would love to assist you; please feel free to call us with any questions or to start the home-fi nancing process! Please call 952-808-2820 if you want to apply for a mortgage.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Real Estate Tip - Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program

If you're upside down and thinking about selling your home. Attached is a link to this government program called HAFA that you could benefit from.


http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/ro-content/ro/government_affairs/short_sales_hafa

Let me know if you know someone that's thinking about selling their home. Thank you.


Thursday, September 22, 2011

The Value of Home Maintenance

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.
Copyright 2011 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

How is the market in Burnsville?

There were 541 closed sales in Burnsville in 2010. Compared that to 641 closed sales in 2009. That is a 15.6% drop in closed sales. In 2009, the average sale price is $185,646. In 2010, the average sale price is $180,149. That is a 3% drop in average sale price. In 2009, the average day on the market until sale is 141 days. In 2010, the average days on the market before sale is 131 days. That is a 6.6% drop in days. In 2009, the percent of original list price recieved at sale was 92.7%. In 2010, it was 91.4%. What does all of this mean? Although the media is saying prices of homes are falling around 10-15%, in reality, it's really not. The sale price only drop about 3% in Burnsville and the number of days to sell took 10 days less. If you had offer on a home that was listed for $100,000, chances are, you could have bought for 91,400. There are some gems out there. The investors are out in full force to take advantage of this buyer's market. A lot of the realtors that were selling back in 10 years ago are saying that the prices today are about the same as in 1999 or 1998. Remember, the real estate boom started about in 2000 and continue until about 2007. If you bought prior to 2000, you probably got a deal. If you bought after 2000, you probably paid too much. In any case, now is a good time to buy because everything is low anywhere here in the Twin Cities. You can actually cash flow. Interest rates are also low. This is an investor's dream.