Ham Lake, MN Real Estate Market Statistics 1st Quarter 2010

The City of Ham Lake has a rich history. Incorporated in 1974, Ham Lake became a city after over a hundred years of humble but steady growth. The area was first settled in 1855 by a group of Scottish men on the southwest side of Ham Lake. Though, I can only assume that the lake itself got its name due to its unusual “ham hock” shape, the community started out with a different name. The original name of the community was Glen Carey, which is the Scottish translation of “beautiful valley”. Following a prairie fire in 1857, the first settlers moved but the community was resettled again. The new Scandinavian settlers had a hard time with the pronunciation of Glen Carey and soon the fledging community was known as Ham Lake. Anoka County officially was recognized it as a township in 1871. In the early 1900’s Central Avenue (Highway 65) was a slow commute as it was a wagon trail through the sand and swampland. And we think going through stop light after stop light slows traffic. Though it was graveled and paved at some point, it 1954 before was expanded to four lanes.
Those four lanes are in full use now as more and more people look to buying acreage, executive, luxury and lakeshore homes in the Ham Lake area. The real estate market is not quite as sluggish in Ham Lake, MN as it was in early 2009. Homes are selling again. There are bright spots across the board with homes selling in all price categories under $400,000. New construction sales have picked up a bit with 2 sold and 4 pending compared with zero sold in the first quarter of 2009. The average Cumulative Days-on-Market (CDOM) is down for the first quarter in Ham Lake at 181 days compared to 249 for the same time period in 2009 so there are signs of an improving market. However, first quarter average sales prices were much lower at $216,291 compared with an average sales price of $247,748 for all of 2009. (See homes sales snapshots below for additional details.)
Inventory is down in Ham Lake from the levels seen in 2009; most notably in the higher price points. There are currently 101 homes active on the market compared to 110 in January of 2009. Homes listed at higher prices continue to take months to sell but lower priced inventory seems to sell. There still are more Ham Lake homes than Ham Lake buyers but there are only a handful of homes over $500,000 this year compared to 20 last year. Homeowners considering selling a home in the Ham Lake area must consider the average time to sell a home in the Twin Cities north metro is approximately 6-8 months. Right now inventory levels indicate there is about 11 months of inventory in the Ham Lake area and homes are selling again in every price point. But as in 2009, having your home properly priced and prepared for showings is essential to sell a home in this Anoka County community in 2010.
First Quarter 2009 Ham Lake residential real estate statistics for single family homes:
Under $200,000~ 19 Active Listings, 15 Pending Listings, 13 Sold Listings, CDOM 82 (All existing homes)

$200,000-300,000 ~ 41 Active Listings, 10 Pending Listings, 9 Sold Listings, CDOM 295 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 4 Active, 1 Pending, 1 Sold)

$300,000-400,000 ~ 22 Active Listings, 7 Pending Listings, 2 Sold Listings, CDOM 260 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 5 Active, 2 Pending, 0 Sold)

$400,000-$500,000 ~ 13 Active Listings, 2 Pending Listings, 2 Sold Listings, CDOM 174 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 2 Active, 0 Pending, 1 Sold)

$500,000 and Up~ 6 Active Listings, 3 Pending Listings, 1 Sold Listings, CDOM 525 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 1 Active, 1 Pending, 0 Sold)
Lakeshore available in the City of Ham Lake11 Active Listings

Ham Lake lakeshore price range: $135,000-$774,900

5 Homes on Coon Lake
3 Homes on Ham Lake
1 Home on Lake Netta
1 Home on Little Coon Lake
**All Statistical information based on information from the REGIONAL MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE of MINNESOTA, INC. for the period of 1/1/10 through 3/31/10.



Copyright 2010 Teri Eckholm

Ham Lake, MN Real Estate Market Statistics for 3rd Quarter 2009

It will probably not come as a surprise that the unique Ham Lake name wasn't the first choice by the settler's to the area. After all, not many towns would chose to be named after a cut of pork (but the lake really does look like a ham hock from an aerial view). Incorporated in 1974, Ham Lake became a city after over a hundred years of humble but steady growth. The area was first settled in 1855 by a group of Scottish men on the southwest side of Ham Lake. The original name of the community was Glen Carey, which is the Scottish translation of "beautiful valley". Following a prairie fire in 1857, the first settlers moved but the community was resettled again. The new Scandinavian settlers had a hard time with the pronunciation of Glen Carey and soon the fledging community was known as Ham Lake...most probably because the lake in the area has a unique "ham-hock" shape. Anoka County officially was recognized Ham Lake as a township in 1871. In the early 1900's Central Avenue (Highway 65) was a slow commute as it was a wagon trail through the sand and swampland. And we think going through stop light after stop light slows traffic. Though it was graveled and paved at some point, it 1954 before was expanded to four lanes.
There are still four lanes on Highway 65 but traffic is traveling at a brisk 65 mph round the clock now as more people commute to the north. There are many people who look to the Ham Lake area for acreage, executive, luxury and lakeshore homes. However, lately the real estate market has been quite sluggish throughout Anoka County. Ham Lake, MN is seeing homes sell in 2009. There are bright spots across the board with homes selling in all price categories under $400,000, but the bulk of sales is found in the under $300,000 price categories.
New construction sales are not just stagnant; they have completely stopped with only one builder owned new construction home sold since the first of the year. The average Cumulative Days-on-Market (CDOM) is bouncing around in this Anoka County town…down a bit from first quarter in Ham Lake at 202 days, to 158 in the 2nd quarter and back up to 175 for the 3rd quarter.
Inventory is down in Ham Lake from the levels seen in 2008. There are currently 122 homes listed as active on the Twin Cities MLS but a good portion of those homes are in high price categories that are not seeing much activity. Homes over $500K continue to linger on the market for month after month. Homeowners considering selling a home in the Ham Lake area must consider the average time to sell a home in the Twin Cities north metro is approximately 6-8 months but high priced homes are selling in 2-3 years! Right now average inventory levels indicate there is about 15-16 months of inventory in Ham Lake. Having a good price strategy for your home and being prepared for showings will be essential if planning to sell a home in this Anoka County community in 2009.
3rd Quarter 2009 Ham Lake residential real estate statistics for single family homes:
Under $200,000~ 25 Active Listings, 6 Pending Listings, 10 Sold Listings, CDOM 202 (All existing homes)
$200,000-300,000~ 33 Active Listings, 2 Pending Listings, 10 Sold Listings, CDOM 120 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 2 Active, 0 Pending, 0 Sold)
$300,000-400,000~ 36 Active Listings, 5 Pending Listings, 3 Sold Listings, CDOM 295 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 8 Active, 1 Pending, 0 Sold)
$400,000-$500,000~ 9 Active Listings, 1 Pending Listings, 1 Sold Listings, CDOM 130 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 2 Active, 0 Pending, 0 Sold)
$500,000 and Up~ 19 Active Listings, 1 Pending Listings, 0 Sold Listings, (New Construction Subgroup ~ 2 Active, 0 Pending, 0 Sold)
Lakeshore available in the City of Ham Lake
6 Active Listings
Ham Lake lakeshore price range: $185,000-$950,000
7 Homes on Coon Lake
1 Home on Lake Netta
1 Home on Ham Lake
2 Homes on Little Coon Lake
**All Statistical information based on information from the REGIONAL MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE of MINNESOTA, INC. for the period of 7/1/09 through 9/30/09.

Copyright 2009 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/

Ham Lake, MN Real Estate Market Statistics for 2nd Quarter 2009

Yes, there really is a lake and a town in Minnesota named after a ham hock. It will probably not come as a surprise that the unique Ham Lake name wasn't the first choice by the settler's to the area. Incorporated in 1974, Ham Lake became a city after over a hundred years of humble but steady growth. The area was first settled in 1855 by a group of Scottish men on the southwest side of Ham Lake. The original name of the community was Glen Carey, which is the Scottish translation of "beautiful valley". Following a prairie fire in 1857, the first settlers moved but the community was resettled again. The new Scandinavian settlers had a hard time with the pronunciation of Glen Carey and soon the fledging community was known as Ham Lake...most probably because the lake in the area has a unique "ham-hock" shape. Anoka County officially was recognized Ham Lake as a township in 1871. In the early 1900's Central Avenue (Highway 65) was a slow commute as it was a wagon trail through the sand and swampland. And we think going through stop light after stop light slows traffic. Though it was graveled and paved at some point, it 1954 before was expanded to four lanes.

Those four lanes are in full use now as people continue look at acreage, executive, luxury, hobby farms, lakeshore and even entry level starter homes in the Ham Lake area. The real estate market remains sluggish in Ham Lake, MN like many other Anoka County communities, but a number of homes are selling. There are bright spots across the board with homes selling in all price categories under $400,000. Not only have there been a significant number of closed sales during the quarter, there still are a large number of existing single family homes in pending with scheduled upcoming closing dates. However, new construction sales are still slow to move with only a handful of closed sales in the second quarter. This is an improvement from the zero homes sold in the first quarter of 2009. The average Cumulative Days-on-Market (CDOM) is down a bit from first quarter in Ham Lake but still at 202 days it is taking longer to sell a home than in 2008 when the CDOM was at 158. These numbers will tend to be skewed for sometime as we work through the sales of homes that sat on the market for well over a year.

Inventory is down in Ham Lake from the levels seen in 2008 but has taken a jump in the spring and summer months. No doubt lakeshore home sellers have jumped back in to the market as there is nothing as picturesque as a Minnesota lake in the spring and summer months. There are currently 133 homes active on the market compared to 110 at the beginning of January. Homes continue to take months to sell as there still seems to be more Ham Lake homes on the market than Ham Lake buyers. Homeowners considering selling a home in the Ham Lake area must consider the average time to sell a home in the Twin Cities north metro is approximately 6-8 months. Right now inventory levels indicate there is about 24 months of inventory. Having a good price strategy for your home and being prepared for showings is crucial for anyone planning to sell a home in this Anoka County community in 2009.

2nd Quarter 2009 Ham Lake residential real estate statistics for single family homes:

Under $200,000~ 29 Active Listings, 12 Pending Listings, 13 Sold Listings, CDOM 196 (All existing homes)
$200,000-300,000 ~ 38 Active Listings, 8 Pending Listings, 14 Sold Listings, CDOM 192 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 2 Active, 1 Pending, 2 Sold, CDOM 15)
$300,000-400,000 ~ 37 Active Listings, 3 Pending Listings, 4 Sold Listings, CDOM 175 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 6 Active, 1 Pending, 0 Sold)
$400,000-$500,000 ~ 13 Active Listings, 1 Pending Listings, 0 Sold Listings (New Construction Subgroup ~ 3 Active, 0 Pending, 0 Sold)
$500,000 and Up~ 16 Active Listings, 1 Pending Listings, 2 Sold Listings, CDOM 366 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 3 Active, 1 Pending, 1 Sold, CDOM 586)
Lakeshore available in the City of Ham Lake
6 Active ListingsHam Lake lakeshore price range: $185,000-$950,000

• 6 Homes on Coon Lake


• 1 Home on Lake Netta


• 1 Home on Ham Lake


• 3 Homes on Little Coon Lake

**All Statistical information based on information from the REGIONAL MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE of MINNESOTA, INC. for the period of 1/1/09 through 3/31/09.







Copyright 2009 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/