Real Estate News, Home Market Updates & Housing Industry Tips for the Minnesota Home Buyer & Seller

Real estate is local. What does this mean? It means that most of the news you hear about the real estate market is based on a National Level versus the Minneapolis/St Paul area, your neighborhood, and/or your block. Check out the most recent "Skinny" video on the Twin Cities real estate market and get acquainted with the LOCAL real estate market.

It's something most of us don't like to think could happen, but the fact is, it does. While Minneapolis and St Paul rank relatively low in the national averages of crime statistics, it still doesn't hurt to be prepared.

Because this is a real estate blog, I've included a few ways below to protect your home and real estate from crime.

Doors
Solid core or metal doors are harder to break into. Using a high quality dead bold with a knob-in-lock set helps to reinforce your doors. A solid strike plate with 4 or more 3" screws helps reinforce the jamb. For sliding glass doors, use a secondary blocking devise at the base of the slide to make it more difficult to force open. Alarm decals and anti...

Once again it's time to head out on a self guided tour of over 25 fabulous homes in North Minneapolis and Camden.

When: This Sunday, April 10, Noon - 3:00 PM

Where: Pick up a list of homes on the tour at The 42nd Avenue Station (42nd and Lyndale N)

Why: With a HUGE inventory of amazing architecture, more and more city folks are calling NOMI home and you should too!

Web:  Facebook

Come on out and get to NOMI!

SO MUCH HOUSE FOR SO LITTLE $$!

3711 Zane Ave N offered by Lakes Area Realty for $156,900

This home was purchased in 2003 for $205,000. Nearly $30,000 in updates have been made since that time including a new roof, siding, updated-retro-look kitchen (with a newer big chill refrigerator), new carpet upstairs, hot water heather, central air and so much more. With over 2,000 finished square feet, 3 fireplaces, 3 bedrooms, 1.75 baths and an attached garage on a big lot, this home is a real deal for someone! THIS IS NOT A SHORT SALE. Contact me for a showing! 612.810.0295

Front view. Perennial landscaping. Very nice block.

Adorable and fun kitche...

Happy Spring! With the weather warming up and trees beginning to bud, the local real estate market is heating up for homebuyers. Typically, I find the following criteria to be true when working with first time homebuyers: They are looking at single family homes in the below areas within the price range of $100,000 and $250,000 and they are interested in working with traditional sellers vs. foreclosures and short sales. Just to show the great amount of inventory available in some of the Twin Cities' hottest areas see the list below showing the number of homes available. Properties in these figures are traditional sales listings priced between $100,000 and $250.000.

According to the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the Twin Cities, in fact, led the nation in January 2011 in home price decline. Minneapolis and Saint Paul real estate fell 3.4% in January compared to December showing the housing market recession is not yet over. 

Especially if you are a first time homebuyer, many real estate professionals in Minneapolis and St. Paul would agree it’s an excellent time to buy given the combination of low prices, high inventory and low interest rates. According to Steve Havig, former President of the Minneapolis Association of Realtors and Broker/Owner of Lakes Area Realty in Minneapols, “We will not know when we are at ‘the bottom’ until prices and and rat...

THANK YOU TO ALL who voted for me as the best Realtor in North Minneapolis at InsideNorthside. I share this honor with other agents and the residents of this area who care enough to work diligently on the revitalization of North Minneapolis. Learn more about other "Best Of" winners at InsideNorthside!

Good Afternoon Everyone -

I am looking forward to co-hosting the September NOMI Home Buyer's Tour!

Date: Sunday, September 13
Time: 11:30am
Location: Papa's Pizza and Pasta (4159 Thomas Ave N) http://www.papaspizzaandpasta.com

Enjoy your Sunday morning at Papa's Pizza and Pasta for breakfast or coffee and a pastry prior to our tour - -

If you would like to have breakfast prior to the tour, I recommend that you arrive by 10:30am, coffee and a pastry 11:00am or if you are just going to join us for the Tour please plan on arriving no later than 11:30am.

Please RSVP to MyNewNeighbor@gmail.com and let NOMI know if you intend to have breakfast prior to the tour and your preferred reservation ...

Hello everyone! Below you'll see our first video attempt at helping to educate our clients on the goings on in the market. The first video is dedicated to first time homebuyers. Future videos will hopefully be better AND shorter, but for now, hopefully you'll find this informative!

Senator Amy Klobuchar, says first-timers are taking advantage of part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which gives many of them up to $8,000 in tax credits. "Now it's a reality, it's a reality until the last day of November," says the Senator.

To qualify, single taxpayers can have incomes of up to $75,000 and married couples can have incomes of up to $150,000.  Further, those who make more may be eligible for some credit.  According to MAR (Minnesota Association of Realtors), over 60% of the homes sold this year were foreclosures or short sales, and 50% of homes sold went to first time home buyers. More importantly, home sales in Minnesota increased upwards of 20% in June, ...

PRIDE this year was as major hit! We'd love to thank everyone who stopped by our Lakes Area Realty booth! We had an enormous turn out at our colorful booth and we think the perfect weather added to the high attendance and interest.

This year, we had cool Lakes Area Realty whistles (which went like hot cakes), cold water for booth visitors and of course Hawaiian leis to hand out to add to the frill of it all. Bright yellow Lakes Area Realty bandanas were also distributed to the canine attendants! Those were a major hit as well!

Speaking of canines, in our effort at Lakes Area Realty to embrace community, we sponsored Second Chance Animal Rescue, a local animal shelter as our organization ...