Snapshot of Home Sales Statistics in Chisago, MN Year End 2015

The real estate market is once again strong in Chisago, MN at the end of 2015. Overall, the housing market remained quite active in the Minneapolis/St Paul metro, and the Chisago housing market is no exception. New listings were relatively flat but the number of closed homes sold jumped over 18%. Likewise, the average sales price was nearly 18% higher 2015 compared to the previous year, coming in at just under $260,000. This is quite an improvement from just a few years ago when the average sales price was just $189K. Sellers are receiving nearly 98% of asking price in 2015. Market time dropped significantly too. It now takes an average of 86 days on the market to sell a Chisago home. While this is higher than other metro suburbs, it is significantly less than a few years ago when it would take over four months to sell a Chisago City home. The price per square foot in Chisago is also heading up. It now stands at $137/sq. ft., compared to an average of $122/sq. ft. in the previous year. Home owners considering selling in Chisago would be well advised to put their homes on the market early in 2016. With low housing inventory, sellers seem to have a bit of the upper hand in this community at this point in time.

What is my Chisago Home Worth? 

READY TO MAKE A MOVE? Let me be your professional guide. If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me, Teri Eckholm of Boardman Realty, a call or visit my website for a FREE Home Buyer Success Guide or FREE Home Value Report. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District. Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.
 
Copyright 2016 terieckholm.com

What is a Low Ball Offer in a Hot Real Estate Market?

In a hot real estate market, what initial offer can insulting to a home seller? 10% less than asking? 5% less? A full priced offer with 3% of buyer's closing costs paid by the seller?

When housing inventory is as tight as it is currently in many north and east Minneapolis/St. Paul metro communities, what is considered a "lowball offer" might be less than you think.
 
As a REALTOR®, I have seen my share of sellers who were insulted by a buyer’s offer over the years. There are times when anything less than a full priced offer is insulting. But should a buyer be afraid to request a few thousand toward closing costs with a fear that the seller will balk and accept the next offer in line?
 
A lot depends on the price and location within the Twin Cities. In some neighborhoods, it could be insulting to offer less than full price especially if it is a home priced under $200,000. There are an abundance of first time buyers out there looking for affordable, move-in ready homes. There are so many buyers out there that a well prepared and priced property can get an offer (or 2, 3 or more) in a matter of hours and be in pending in a matter of days. There are many neighborhoods and communities throughout Anoka, Washington, Ramsey and Chisago Counties with a very small number of homes for sale. Well priced homes do not stay on the market long.  It can be tough being a home buyer with a limited budget in  this changed market.

In fact some situations buyers will feel frustrated and that they might never get a home. The get advice from friends and relatives to never pay full price. Sellers always negotiate. But in reality, many sellers will not negotiate significantly. And a perceived offensive or  "lowball" offer could put the buyers’ dream home purchase in jeopardy.

How to Coming up with an Acceptable Starting Point:

• Request that your REALTOR® to do a market analysis. When representing a buyer, I will look up the recent comparable homes sold in the neighborhood before the "what to offer" discussion begins. In this low inventory market, a seller that lists at market value but could still be in a multiple offer situation due to demand. If the home is properly priced and in high-demand area, anything that is not close to full price could mean that the seller will wait for another offer. By looking at the neighborhood comparables, my buyers better understand what offer will be considered reasonable.


• Consider the original list price. If a seller started off too high and adjusted the price of the home it could be priced right now. If a market analysis shows the current price of the home is fair, offering 5-10% less could be considered insulting. When a buyer has found "THE: house and fallen in love with it, it might make sense to make an offer closer to the asking price rather than haggle and risk losing it.


• The Overpriced Home. If the market analysis shows the home to be significantly overpriced and the offer will be more than 10% less than current the current asking price, it may be helpful to provide the comparables to the seller and his/her agent. Sometimes when the offer is accompanied by documentation to back up the offer, the seller is less offended.But be careful not to overlook good comps to justify your offer. This strategy can be worse that not providing documentation at all.


• Buyer’s Plans to Remodel and Update. Some buyers think sending a long list of planned updates complete with associated estimates is a good strategy to negotiate for a price reduction. Often these lists include changes that reflect cosmetic and personal taste. Most sellers are not impressed when a buyer’s offer indicates that they are offering tens of thousands less due to paint, carpet and other cosmetic changes. If the updates are necessary due to age or wear, make note of the fact. But slamming a well maintained and updated home to justify a low offer is insulting and make continued negotiations difficult if not impossible.


• Avoid Considering Price Paid for Home. I have come across a few buyers who research tax records to determine the price the seller paid for the property. They assume if someone purchased a home at a very low price, they have a ton of equity. This can be true but not always. Some sellers have taken the equity out of their home for improvements or for other reasons. And well sellers do have equity, they usually don't intend to give it away either. Keep the negotiations focused on the fair market value of the home.

Right now, sellers are in excitedly anticipating a non-contingent, pre-approved home buyer to write an offer on their home. In most cases, they understand the market and have worked hard to prepare their properties to entice a written purchase agreement (or several). But buyers must think through their offers; the perfect starting point for negotiations must contemplated thoroughly. Discussions can go south very quickly between buyer and seller when the initial offer is deemed rude.

Need help coming up with that perfect starting point for your home offer? Let me be your professional guide. If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me, Teri Eckholm of Boardman Realty, a call or visit my website for a FREE Home Buyer Success Guide or FREE Home Value Report. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District. Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2015 www.terieckholm.com 

Snapshot of Home Sales Statistics in Blaine MN Year End 2014

The real estate market continues to show a strong improvement in Blaine, Minnesota. There is a significant increase in new listings and average price of a home sold in 2014 over 2013. Almost all of Blaine’s lender mediated foreclosure/short sale homes have worked their way through the system and once again, higher valued new construction is having a positive effect on the average sales price. The average price per square foot has increased another 8% from $107/sq ft to $116/sq ft. This is significantly higher as it was under $90 just a few years back. Closed sales have stayed relatively stable no doubt the fact that there is new construction transactions helps as many neighboring communities struggle to keep up the base due to lack of inventory. . Homes also sell quickly in Blaine, staying on the market an average of just over 2 months. This is well under the 4 month sales time in 2011. Home sellers received nearly asking price in 2014 with accepted offers at 97% of list. This north metro community has sold through most of its current home inventory so 2015 might be a good time for a traditional seller with a starter home to make their move as sellers seem to have the upper hand again.

What is my Blaine Home Worth?

READY TO MAKE A MOVE? Let me be your professional guide. If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me, Teri Eckholm of Boardman Realty, a call or visit my website for a FREE Home Buyer Success Guide or FREE Home Value Report. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District. Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2015 www.terieckholm.com

Snapshot of Home Sales Statistics in Hugo, MN Year End 2014

The housing market in Hugo, Minnesota has remained steady. This north metro Washington County just outside of White Bear Lake saw a drop in new listings and closed sales in 2014 but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a demand for homes. Housing inventory could the reason the average sales price rose again for the third consecutive year to over $237,000. The amount sellers are receiving on sales is close to asking at 96.7% which is slightly down from 2013 but still one of the highest ratios for communities in the north and east metro area. The average price per square footage likewise continued to increase from $108/square foot in 2013 to $111 at the end of the year. Time on the market to sell a Hugo home, is up by a few days over 2013 but still selling significantly faster than in 2011 and 2012 when homes look over 3 months to sell.

As we start 2015, inventory levels continue to be extremely low for homes in Hugo. This has created a bit of a seller’s market; with sellers have the negotiating advantage. Since interest rates have remained low, home buyers are out there searching for their dream home well before the traditional spring market has begun. Hugo home owners considering selling in 2015 and planning to get the most leverage from the improved market should consider listing their homes as quickly as possible. Once the warmer temperatures arrive, there will likely be more homes on the market and the market will balance out.

What is my Hugo Home Worth?

READY TO MAKE A MOVE? Let me be your professional guide. If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me, Teri Eckholm of Boardman Realty, a call or visit my website for a FREE Home Buyer Success Guide or FREE Home Value Report. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District. Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.
Copyright 2015 www.terieckholm.com

Snapshot of Home Sales Statistics in Forest Lake, MN Year End 2014

The housing market in Forest Lake has continued to stabilize and become stronger than in the past few years. New listings were down slightly which is similar to many communities. There just is a lack of inventory across the board which is one of the reasons for the significant decline in closed sales. The low inventory continued to drive prices up nearly 17% over the average price in 2013. The average sales price was over $250,000 which is quite significant as it was well under $200,000 just a few years ago. Days on market in 2012 were down a tad but homes still take over 3 months to sell in this area. Average price per square foot has continually risen for the past few years and  was at $114/sq ft in 2014. This is comparable to other communities in the Washington County/east Anoka County area. High average sales prices and low inventory would give the market edge to sellers in the Forest Lake area as we head into the 2014 spring market.

What is my Forest Lake Home Worth?

  

READY TO MAKE A MOVE? Let me be your professional guide. If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me, Teri Eckholm of Boardman Realty, a call or visit my website for a FREE Home Buyer Success Guide or FREE Home Value Report. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District. Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2015 www.terieckholm.com