Longfellow Nokomis Real Estate Guide

H2O

Adding a water element to your home or yard has become really popular these days.  It adds beauty, tranquility, and can add value to your home when it comes time to sell.  You need to consider how much space you have, the maintenance required for upkeep, and of course, your budget.

Here are some typical water features:

Water Gardens

Water gardens usually focus on plants and can include fountains or waterfalls.  They can be large or small.

Ponds

Ponds usually contain fish and require more detailed care than water gardens.  They can be any size, but experts say they should be at least 18-22 inches deep.

Pondless Waterfalls

A pondless waterfall takes up less space because the pond is underground.  It can be made to fit almost any area.

Container Water Gardens

These are good for small spaces.  They're made with a container, pond liner, equipment, and plants.  You can add fish of course, but if you do, you'll have to consider the space and filtration needed.

Fountains

There are tabletop and wall fountains, English and Grecian.  There are even solar-powered ones!

Whatever you decide, you'll be sure to have a lot of options.  Get creative and have fun!

Thanks to Home Improvement Magazine

More on Foreclosures/Short Sales

This is a follow-up to Lisa's post of 8/14/08 on foreclosures/short sales.  The Minneapolis Association of Realtors (MAR) released a big report about them for the second quarter of 2008.  I'm just including two pages of graphs and stats that show the trends from July 2007 to July 2008.  You can see the full report (and a lot of other good information) at www.mnrealtor.com.

Click on the link below:

Download inventory_of_homesmar.pdf

First Time Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance Programs

I don't usually post more than once per day, but this was something I wanted to be sure you knew about. With the new housing bill George Bush signed into law, the down payment assistance programs for first time homebuyers will be going away on October 1, 2008. 

There's a website calling for people to get involved to support the new law that's been proposed to allow these programs to continue.

http://www.dpagroundswell.org/

Short Sales & Foreclosures Effect First Time Homebuyers Most...or do they?

I've been on a rampage about how banks don't have any business working in the real estate market, and how difficult it seems for them to be to act as a mediator in the short sale of a home. Where a real estate agent can close a transaction in under 30 days, once the bank gets involved, it can take that long to just get a response to the purchase agreement. No matter how much I talk about how long and arduous this process is, my clients always seem surprised at how long it takes.

The Minneapolis Association of Realtors released a report this morning on foreclosures, short sales, and other statistics. I've pulled out the highlights for you here:

• The report calls both short sales and foreclosures "lender-mediated" properties. So when I refer to them below, you'll know lender mediated includes both.
• Over the last year, for single family homes, town homes and condominiums across the Twin Cities,  the inventory of lender-mediated properties for sale has almost doubled, while traditional inventory has declined by 16 percent.
• There is a direct correlation between price, and lender-mediated listings. The more affordable the price range, the greater the number of homes that are listed are lender-mediated.
• When you hear the media say "Home Prices Continue To Fall!" then some staggering statistic follows, those statistics carry the wait of both lender-mediated (short sale) properties and traditional seller-sold properties. Here's the skinny: In the second quarter of 2008, Twin Cities median sales price of lender-mediated properties dropped 11.9 percent compared to seller-owned properties only dropped 3.4%.  The report doesn't mention this, but foreclosed and short sale properties are often lived in-HARD. It makes sense to me that buyers are willing to pay more for a property in pristine condition, and not have to wait for 4 months to determine if they'll actually be able to buy it. In addition, in some parts of the Twin Cities the ongoing drop in price for foreclosed properties will put ongoing downward pressure on prices of traditionally seller-sold properties. (THIS is why I rant about how long it takes banks to get these properties sold. Until we see a reduction in the number of short sale properties on the market, we will continue to have downward pressure on home prices!)
• Of all the current listings in the Twin Cities, 25% of those listings are lender mediated properties. As I mentioned earlier, a disproportionate number of those in the lower price ranges.

Here are some other tidbits of statistics for you. These are different MLS districts and the percentage of current listings that are lender-mediated:

• Nokomis has 294 homes for sale, 21.4% are lender mediated
• Longfellow has 146 homes for sale 26% are lender mediated
• North has 393 homes for sale 59.3% are lender mediated
• Calhoun has 428 homes for sale, 6.3% are lender mediated
• Brooklyn Center has 370 homes for sale 46.2% are lender mediated
• Plymouth has 587 homes for sale 9% are lender mediated
• Highland (yes, across the river) has 113 homes for sale 12.4% are lender mediated
• Mac Groveland has 112 homes for sale 5.4% are lender mediated

If these things are true:

• More lender mediated properties in lower price ranges
• More first time home buyers in lower price ranges
• The most downward pressure of prices in this price range due to disproportionate number of lender mediated properties

Then, I should be able to conclude that first time home buyers should be able to find a really good deal, right?  It flys in the face of common sense, but what's happening in the market place is those charming homes with the great floor plan, neutral paint colors, and solid mechanicals are getting the multiple offers. Multiple offers usually means a higher sale price. Seems contradictory, doesn't it?

Although foreclosures and short sales might be mucking up the market temporarily, the golden rule still applies.

The best ones still go the fastest and for the best price.

Countrywide Spends Big Bucks on Lobbying

The REALTOR online magazine, a trade publication for Realtors reported that Countrywide spent $457,000 to lobby the federal government about foreclosure prevention and regulation of mortgage financing companies. They
ALSO spent another $249,000 on lobbying efforts in the first quarter of 2008.

This suggestion comes from the desk of a REALTOR who has worked as both a listing agent and buyers' agent on short sales with Countrywide. Ahem....HEY COUNTRYWIDE!!  Spend this money on more negotiators, and new business systems so you can respond to a purchase agreement before our hair turns gray from waiting around for some communication from you.  You may be able to sell these properties before they become part of your portfolio and cost you even more money.

Just a thought.

Green Laundry

I've been hanging my clothes to dry this summer - they smell so fresh!  That got me thinking of how laundry can go green.

Obviously, HANG your clothes, you'll save energy and money too.

Clean the lint screen after each dryer use.

Use Energy Star rated appliances.

Run the washer when you have a full load (this goes for the dishwasher too!).

Washing in cold water can save up to 90% in energy costs.

If you wash in warm or hot water, run back to back loads to take advantage of residual heat.

Use plant-based detergents and non-chlorine bleach.  Aslo, buy products in recyclable containers.

Front-loading washers can use up to 40% less water per load.

Here are a few web sites to check out for more information:

www.energystar.gov

www.coopamerica.org

www.drbronner.com

www.seventhgeneration.com

www.sunandearth.com

www.thegreenguide.com

www.treehugger.com

Thanks to all for helping us go green!

Lustron: The Home of Tomorrow - Today!

And by today...I mean 1947.

As the men and women who served in the armed forces and military hospitals came home from World War II, America faced a housing shortage.  At the same time, America had a surplus of steel because it was no longer needed for the war effort.  In 1947, behind the vision of Carl Strandlund, and with the help of tax dollars, the Lustron Corporation was formed in Colombus, Ohio with the plan to use this steel to mass produce prefabricated homes that would be affordable for every American family.

Between 1949 and 1950, 2,498 steel homes were produced.  Then, a combination of changing market factors and political pressures put the Lustron Corporation out of business.  Today, many of these homes remain as a unique time capsule into 1950’s America.

A Lustron home is built completely out of steel.  The walls, ceiling, cabinets, and doors are all steel.  The exterior walls and roof are made of ceramic-coated steel tiles.  These are the same tiles used to build the first White Castle restaurants.  All the plumbing, heating and electrical were built into each home, which was then placed on a concrete slab.  Other than a few mechical updates, and maybe new windows, the homes continue to function mostly unchanged - even in Minnesota.  Several Lustron homes remain in Minneapolis, including a handful in the Nokomis area.

Late Summer Garden Maintenance

According to Peter Moe, Director of Operations at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen, there are a few things we can be doing to keep our late summer gardens looking their best:

1.  Pull weeds before they go to seed to avoid more serious problems later.

2.  Use organic mulches such as compost, shredded bark, wood chips, or straw to hold in moisture, keep roots cooler, and help deter weeds.

3.  Deadhead large flowered plants such as geraniums and lillies to encourage re-bloom and prevent seed formation.

4.  Watch for unwanted and invasive plants such as buckthorn or garlic mustard.  Pull them when they're small.

Careful watering will help plants stay healthy in the hottest part of the year:  water early in the day and adjust sprinklers so you don't waste water on driveways and sidewalks.  If you have an automatic sprinkler system, install a rain sensor to it.  For hanging baskets, mix fertilizer at half-strength with water every 1-2 weeks.

Make sure you cut flowers to enjoy inside too!  In some plants, it encourages re-bloom.

For more information from Peter Moe, see the Arboretum's web site:  www.arboretum.umn.edu.

Thanks: U of M Landscape Arboretum and Home Improvement Magazine.

Longfellow and Nokomis Real Estate Market

Here are some statistics with a look at how Nokomis and Longfellow real estate are doing compared to this same time last year. I've also included statistics on Minneapolis as a whole so you have a reference point. In general, we have significantly fewer listings, fewer days on the market, and receive a greater percentage of the list price compared to much of the city. Our neighborhoods have faired okay during this downturn. With so many fewer homes on the market, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We'll see the Longfellow and Nokomis real estate market level out long before the suburbs do.

Longfellow
.	YTD 2007	YTD 2008	Change
New Listings	367	333	-9.20%
Closed Sales	158	139	-12%
Average Sales Price	230,221	196,486	-14.70%
% of List Price Received at Sale	96.10%	93.70%	-3.50%
Average Days on Market Until Sale	82	103	25.90%

Nokomis
.	YTD 2007	YTD 2008	Change
New Listings	900	716	-20.40%
Closed Sales	369	316	-14.40%
Average Sales Price	239,232	222,970	-6.80%
% of List Price Received at Sale	96.20%	94%	-2.20%
Average Days on Market Until Sale	97	121	24.40%

Minneapolis
.	YTD 2007	YTD 2008	Change
New Listings	7100	6194	-12.80%
Closed Sales	2248	2173	-3.30%
Average Sales Price	260,037	216,406	-16.80%
% of List Price Received at Sale	94.80%	90.40%	-4.60%
Average Days on Market Until Sale	127	148	16.60%

This information is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.  Statistics provided by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.

Minnehaha Bandstand

My husband and I stopped at the SeaSalt Eatery at the Minnehaha Pavillion to have some dinner last week. As we were finishing up, dancers in beautiful native costumes paraded by us toward the bandstand. There was no announcement about who they were or what they were celebrating, but I'm sure glad we got to see them!

Enjoy your summer!