Weekly Market Activity Report For Week Ending November 19, 2016

With the holiday season in full swing, existing home sales rose for the second
straight month to the highest they have been since 2007. This was unexpected,
since prices are also at record highs and inventory is still consistently declining. As
both incomes and employment figures continue to improve, it would be a welcome
surprise to see sales trend higher through to the end of the year.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending November 19:
• New Listings increased 10.9% to 950
• Pending Sales increased 8.0% to 902
• Inventory decreased 19.7% to 11,975

For the month of October:
• Median Sales Price increased 6.5% to $230,000
• Days on Market decreased 14.3% to 60
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 0.8% to 96.9%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 21.2% to 2.6

Publish Date: November 28, 2016 • All comparisons are to 2015

Helpful Charts for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Sometimes getting ready for the holiday can be stressful. For some helpful tricks and tips, check out the links below.

How much food do you actually need? – Good Housekeeping:

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/thanksgiving-ideas/a22081/turkey-serving-guidelines/

How to cook the perfect turkey with Alton Brown - Food Network:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/how-to-cook-perfect-turkey-61005.html

If you need help setting up a fancy dinner table – Architectural Digest: http://dp8hsntg6do36.cloudfront.net/582ccdabb57ac3032b000048/64b66a3e-ae9e-47cd-92ce-00c61ef1226blow.webm

How to carve a turkey like a pro – Martha Stewert:

http://www.marthastewart.com/1127305/how-carve-turkey-pro

If you need to figure out a side dish to bring and share – Southern Living:

http://www.southernliving.com/food/holidays-occasions/thanksgiving-dinner-side-dishes

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is being shown on NBC starting at 8am.

Football starts at 12:30 with the Minnesota Vikings at the Detroit Lions shown on CBS. At 4:30 you can see the Washington Redskins at the Dallas Cowboys on FOX. The last game is at 7:30 with the Pittsburg Steelers at the Indianapolis Colts shown on NBC.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Weekly Market Activity Report For Week Ending November 12, 2016

The sudden elevation in mortgage rates after the election may throw a wrench into
the market for both buyers and sellers. Affordability and inventory are already low,
and rate spikes coupled with rising prices may keep buyers at bay. In return,
potential sellers may forgo selling if they have to lower their asking prices. These are
hypothetical situations, of course, and residential real estate is presently performing
well.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending November 12:
• New Listings decreased 3.8% to 986
• Pending Sales decreased 2.7% to 857
• Inventory decreased 19.0% to 12,334

For the month of October:
• Median Sales Price increased 6.5% to $230,000
• Days on Market decreased 14.3% to 60
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 0.8% to 96.9%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 21.2% to 2.6

Publish Date: November 21, 2016 • All comparisons are to 2015

What's happening this weekend besides some snow?

Happy Friday!

Hopefully you are staying warm with the weather. If you are looking to venture out tonight or this weekend here are some things you can do:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is now in theaters. It’s a spin-off of the Harry Potter series set in 1926 New York. It focuses on Newt Scramander and a conflict that happens when some of his magical creatures are accidentally released. It looks to be a great movie for most ages. http://www.fantasticbeasts.com/

Saturday, November 19^th is Minneapolis Craft’za. It’s a free one-day art market for handmade goods. You can start Christmas shopping early. It’s at the Grain Belt Bottling House and what’s cool about it is the artists are selected by jury. They want to make sure you are only offered the finest quality crafts. It is open from 10am-4pm and food trucks will be outside if you get hungry. For more information click here: http://www.craftza.com/

Winter Light at the Arboretum is now open. Bruce Munro has created a one of a kind exhibt that is being shown at the Minnesota Arboretum. It is a large-scale light installation with 5 outdoor and 2 indoor installations aimed at illuminating the winter landscape after dark. It would be the perfect event for a date night. Tickets are $17 for the self-guided tour and its open Thursday-Sunday. For more information and to see pictures click here: http://www.munrowinterlightmn.org/

Stay Warm!

Weekly Market Activity Report For Week Ending November 5, 2016

It is unclear how having elected the first business person with no prior political
experience and a heavy background in real estate as the nation's president is going
to influence the housing market. In the hours and days after the election, financial
markets became quite volatile due to the uncertainty. However, it doesn't seem as
though demand from aspiring home buyers will be shrinking in the near future.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending November 5:
• New Listings decreased 7.4% to 1,096
• Pending Sales increased 9.4% to 980
• Inventory decreased 17.8% to 12,706

For the month of October:
• Median Sales Price increased 6.5% to $230,000
• Days on Market decreased 14.3% to 60
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 0.8% to 96.9%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 21.2% to 2.6

Publish Date: November 14, 2016 • All comparisons are to 2015

Happy Veterans Day!

Thank you to all those who have served or are currently serving our country.

If you are looking for something to do this weekend check out one of the fun events below:

Canterbury Downs in Shakopee is hosting the Autumn Festival: An Arts and Crafts Affair this weekend (Sat. 9-7 & Sun. 10-5). It attracts over 500 of the nation’s finest exhibitors selling beautiful handmade items. You will find art, jewelry, home décor, furniture, toys and more there. Plus they have national and local entertainers perform on a stage. Food is available. Come see one of the largest craft fairs. Admission is $10.

If you are looking for something to do tonight consider checking out Fins and Flights at the Sealife Aquarium (Mall of America- Bloomington). Come take a journey through the aquarium while sampling local beers. For more information check out the map below or click on the link.

http://www.finsandflights.com/

  

If you are looking for something to do that is out of this world head to the Science Museum of Minnesota. They are showing A Beautiful Planet. It’s a view of earth captured by the astronauts on the International Space Station. To check out showtimes or learn more click here: https://www.smm.org/beautifulplanet

Neighborhood Spotlight: Plymouth

Plymouth is a beautiful city. It was Money Magazine’s number 1 best place to live in 2008. With its accessibility to the big city via 394 but its suburb feel it is an amazing compromise between city and rural. If you are looking for convenience you’ve got it here. Ridgedale mall has everything you could need with over 140 stores. Plymouth also boasts a great movie theater with leather recliner seats. The city has 6 bodies of water, 144 miles of trails and 53 city parks.

Quick Facts:

Population: 72,870

Average Home Price: $292,000

Walkability: 18 – Car Dependant

Here are two beautiful properties currently available in Plymouth:

https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/mn/plymouth/17100-60th-avenue-n/pid_15095584/

https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/mn/plymouth/17110-60th-avenue-n/pid_15100321/

Weekly Market Activity Report For Week Ending October 29, 2016

We enter the fourth quarter of the year knowing that the share of first-time home
buyers rose for the first time in approximately three years. This fact is driven
primarily by healthy job growth, but we need to see more homes entering the
market in order to combat the low inventory struggle witnessed during the entirety
of 2016.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending October 29:
 • New Listings decreased 6.1% to 1,031
 • Pending Sales increased 4.2% to 966
 • Inventory decreased 16.9% to 13,299

For the month of September:
 • Median Sales Price increased 3.6% to $230,000
 • Days on Market decreased 13.8% to 56
 • Percent of Original List Price Received increased 0.9% to 97.5%
 • Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 17.1% to 2.9

Publish Date: November 7, 2016 • All comparisons are to 2015

It's Going to be a Beautiful Weekend.

Sunny and 68° is the forecast for this weekend. In other words it should be absolutely beautiful. Now would be the weekend to mow your lawn one more time, clean up any leaves and put grass seed down for the spring. Another fun thing you could do this weekend is watch the Vikings-Lions game this Sunday. It’s poised to be a good game. If you don’t want to watch it at home head out to one of these fun locations:

Image by Darb02

Lord Fletcher’s in Spring Park will be showing the game in the Oar House. You can check it out there from 12 – 5pm. https://www.lordfletchers.com/event/vikings-vs-lions/

If you want to you can head to St. Louis Park and check out Bunny’s Bar and Grill. It was voted the best sports bar in Minnesota last year. After every Vikings touchdown the give out a wooden token worth up to $2.20 off your drink of choice. You could use that on one of their new brews: Leinie Grapefruit Shandy, Castle Danger Cream Ale, Sociable Cider Werks, Boom Island Witness, and Fulton’s new 300 IPA. They try and grab stuff from the local breweries. http://bunnysbarandgrill.com/

Not this week but for every away game you can watch the Vikings on the big screen. They are shown at The Parkway Theater on one of the movie screens. You can enjoy popcorn and see the players larger than life. http://theparkwaytheater.com/index.php

Skol Vikings!

Happy November!

Thanksgiving is in 3 weeks. Now is the time to start thinking about how to get your house ready for holiday guests. If you do little tasks between now and then your holiday experience should be a lot less stressful.

Calibrate your heat.

This is great advice whether or not you plan to host Thanksgiving. Take the time to check all your heat vents and close the ones in areas you don’t use. You can also see how much air flow you need in each room and adjust the vents accordingly. This will help make sure you, your family and your guests are comfortable.

Start figuring out what you are making for Thanksgiving dinner.

Now is the time to start taking stock of your kitchen. Not only do you want to make sure that you have everything for your meal you want to make sure that it will fit in your kitchen. It might be time to clean out your freezer so you can store a turkey. You also want to make sure that if you are hosting guests over the weekend you can fit extras, like coffee and bread, into the pantry.  

Dust your ceiling fans.

It’s amazing how much dust and dirt can collect out of sight. With allergies so prevalent these days keeping the dust and dirt out is a must when having guests over to your home. Along that line now could also be the time to get your vacuum checked and repaired if necessary.

Clean your oven.

This may be self-explanatory but having a clean oven makes food taste better. It also can be fire hazard otherwise. Why chance it now when cleaning it can be quick and easy. For tips on how to clean the oven painlessly check out what the Pioneer Woman has to say: http://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/how-to-clean-your-oven/

Happy cleaning!