Minneapolis and St. Paul Real Estate Update- What's Great About This Fall?

Looking to buy or sell a home in the Twin Cities? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (651) 481-6711 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

A Change of Seasons

With kids going back to school and the transition to fall weather, we're also seeing changes in our area real estate market. We're starting to shift from a seller's market to a more balanced one. 

New listings have remained flat since August of last year and we're seeing more traditional sales, as opposed to the many bank-owned properties we saw on the market last year.

Here are the numbers:

• Active listings: Up 9% from a year ago, giving us a 4 month supply
• Pending sales: 5,200 units for month of August
• Median home price: Up 5% since last year
• Days on market: Just over 2 months
• Showings per contract: 17-18

Overall, we're looking at a pretty strong market here in Minneapolis and St. Paul. We've had 30 straight months where we've seen an increase in median home sale price, which is a great sign for sellers. For buyers, you're still going to need to make aggressive offers, even though inventory is starting to head toward a more balanced market.

That's our update for this week. If you have any questions about real estate in our area, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We've got the answers you're looking for, and would love to share them with you!

See 5 Premier Twin Cities Lakefront Properties This Weekend

Looking to buy or sell a home in Twin Cities, MN? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (651) 481-6711 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

If you're thinking about a lakefront home in the north suburbs, now is your perfect time to see 5 premier lakefront properties in person.

Our 5th annual Lakeshore Home Tour will take you through 5 beautiful homes on 5 different lakes in the north suburban Twin Cities area. 

The home tour takes place June 21st from 1-4pm. For details call us at (651) 481-6711.

We normally hold this tour in August, but with recent sales being so brisk and new properties coming on the market, we decided to move this event up!

This is great news if you're looking for these types of properties, and we would love the opportunity to show them to you.

As always, if you're thinking of buying or selling a home in the Twin Cities, call or email me today!

Secure Your Online Credit Information to Ensure a Smooth Real Estate Transaction

Looking to buy or sell a home in Twin Cities, MN? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (651) 481-6711 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Watch Out for Credit Card Fraud / Security Breaches
In light of recent security breaches at major retail stores throughout the country, I wanted to speak about how you can remain vigilant to protect yourself from credit card fraud. 

• Check Your Online Statements: Make sure your online bank statements are correct, and be sure to check up on the last few months of activity on your card.
• Check Your Credit Report: You can check your credit for free once a year from one of the major credit reporting companies.
• You can also add a fraud alert to your credit report. This will make them follow certain protocols before releasing any credit information under your name.
• You can also go one step further by calling a credit agency to freeze your credit information to stop any fraudulent activity. You only need to contact one credit agency to do this, because they will contact the other ones for you.
• Watch Your Bills: If you don't receive a bill for a while, that may be a sign that someone has changed your billing address and is trying to view your information.
• Shred All Statements: Don't put these statements in the garbage can or the recycling, shred them and get rid of them.

These are just a few ways to protect your finances, because it would be terrible to have your home purchase ruined by a hacker getting into your account and destroying your credit.

Also, with the new HeartBleed virus that was just discovered a few days ago, it is always a good idea to regularly change your passwords for email accounts and other accounts that are used for Amazon or Ebay.

As always, if you need any assistance with real estate in the Twin Cities, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Call Us For Any Assistance in Contesting Your Proposed Property Taxes

Looking to buy or sell a home in Twin Cities, MN? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (651) 481-6711 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Let Us Help you with your Property Taxes

A lot of clients here in St. Paul have been asking about taxes, so I'm going to briefly explain them to you. By now you should have received a copy of your proposed property tax statement in the mail. 

On this statement, you can look to the backside and use it as a roadmap if you feel that your evaluation is out of line. If you need any help protesting your property taxes, then please give us a call and we would be happy to help you out. 

The county assessor will probably need you to give them a market analysis from a Realtor in order to contest your home's market valuation. 

So, if you feel like your property is out of line from what today's values are, then give us a call and we would be very happy to help you out in this situation. It can be confusing and seem rather daunting, but we can help clear things up for you.

Just be sure to contact us soon because these tax deadlines are coming up soon. Also, if you want to discuss real estate in St. Paul, then please contact us because the market is warming up rapidly as we head in to summer here in the Twin Cities.

Give us a call at (651) 481-6711 or email us at TheVannesteGroup@gmail.com

Real Estate App Makes Home Buying Ultra-Simple

Looking to buy or sell a home in Twin Cities, MN? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (651) 481-6711 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Download your free home search app today!

With our new application for smart phones, you can drive through a neighborhood and literally point at homes with your phone, and then get information about the property such as price, square footage, and pictures.

There is also a cool feature within the app that will let you know about open houses going on in your area, and will provide you with information regarding the listings such as price and square footage.

The application uses GPS location to update you on what properties in your area are selling for. For example, if your neighbor's home down the street just sold, you can check the app and get this information quickly and easily.

This app is free, and will surely save you lots of time in your search for real estate. To download, simply click on the link below the blog, and start searching for homes.

Once again, this is only one of many ways we can assist you with your real estate endeavors. If you need any help buying or selling real estate in the Twin Cities area, then please contact us.

Learn About Changes Occurring in the Mortgage Market that Could Affect Your Buying Power

Looking to buy or sell a home in Twin Cities, MN? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price  Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (651) 481-6711 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Hello, welcome back to my video blog. Today I will be discussing some shifts within the mortgage market. There are two big changes and two big buzz words that I'm going to inform you about.

• One of the big changes that you will notice is a maximum of 3% in lender-charged closing costs.
• There will also be more stringent qualifications for loans, changing from 45% to 43%. For example, if your monthly income is around $8,000, then this will change your purchasing power by $30,000 with current interest rates.
• Rebuttable Presumption is a word you might start to hear more often, and it refers to a lenders requirement of not only looking at a borrower's ability to pay, but also their willingness to pay. This will force lenders to start looking at unforeseen changes in the borrower's status that would affect their ability or willingness to pay a loan, which will also require more documentation.
• Another change is that their will no longer be advertising for negative loans or interest-only loans.
• Also, government-backed loans (FHA and VA loans) will not be changing.

You can also expect home prices to continue to rise, making real estate a great investment.

That's all I have for you today, but if you have any questions or concerns please contact me at (651) 481-6711 or email at TheVannesteGroup@gmail.com

5 Key Factors to Prepare You for Market Competition

Looking to buy or sell a home in Twin Cities, MN? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price  Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (651) 481-6711 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

An important thing to consider when selling a home is the competition that you will face in the market. Although there are many different considerations to take into account during this process, you can never underestimate the competition.

1. How updated is your home compared to others? Is your paint fresh and carpeting new and clean? How about your appliances? The more updated everything is, the better edge you will have against competing sellers.
2. You must also take into account the square footage of your home. Do you have a finished basement? If not, would you be willing to invest in one to sell it?
3. How is your curb appeal? Although this will differ from season to season, your home should look as inviting and welcoming as possible whenever you're attempting to sell it. That means plowing the driveway in the winter, raking leaves in the fall, and mowing the lawn in the summer.
4. Location is key, too. Are you near a school or a busy street? Is your home on a corner or in the middle of the block?
5. Is your home updated mechanically? Do you have a new roof or furnace? Different models will have different problems, so be sure to know the aspects of your home's hardware, as buyers will surely want to hear about it.

Buyers will be looking for these 5 features: updates, square footage, curb appeal, location, and general mechanics. These are five important aspects to consider about your competition. By sizing up your 'opponents', you can formulate a winning strategy that will bring potential buyers to your property.