Twin Cities Real Estate - BOOM! Sort of... (Minneapolis, Lakeville: for sale, foreclosures)

[Robert P Stewart]

FYI - a "pending" is a home for sale that accepted an offer

New pendings last week were UP 33.1% versus this week last year. Also, we are only 5.1% below our BEST week in 2008. Considering the historical lows of last year, any new activity would cause quite an uptick in the market.

We have about 3,500 LESS listings on the market than this week one year ago.

Prediction time - the largest wave of foreclosures is yet to come. A majority of the ARM loans out there adjust in August. I have several clients saving their pennies now waiting for that event.

From my practice, I'm seeing two very distinct groups of homebuyers. 1) First timers looking for a foreclosure deal and the $8000 tax credit, and 2) people moving up into $500K-$600K homes (that were $800K-$1.2M just a few years ago).

That's Minnesota Real Estate!

[Globe199]

Maybe by 2015, Lawrence Yun will stop being wrong

[Robert P Stewart]

Lawrence Yun...

Every group has their biases and alternate motives. The NAR is no exception. Lawrence Yun is a very nice guy face to face, and he struck me as extremely intelligent. I listen to his information with the same skepticism I bring to all forms of media. LOL

My prediction is not optimistic for the next two years. I think we're looking at higher unemployment and further declines in the housing market. But the issue is not the market - the REAL issue is how you react to it and what steps you take NOW.

We have it pretty good here in the Twin Cities, believe it or not compared to other areas of the country.

[GoTwins542]

I noticed that your location is "Lakeville, MN - 4th nicest place in the nation to raise a family" - is that an opinion or fact? Just curious since we might be building a home there soon...

[Joestoes]

Robert,
If we were looking in the 350,000 price range would we find something in the way of foreclosures?

[Robert P Stewart]

Originally Posted by GoTwins542

I noticed that your location is "Lakeville, MN - 4th nicest place in the nation to raise a family" - is that an opinion or fact? Just curious since we might be building a home there soon...

That was some national magazine rating great areas to live. I have to admit, I like it here. Great, beautiful area - great schools - and my secret love with Lakeville? My wife and I can sitting at our table in downtown Minneapolis with drinks ordered in 25-30 minutes assuming that we can get babysitters.

When you rate an area of liveability (did I just make that word up?), I don't see how it could possibly be objective. So to answer your question - opinion. But a great opinion...

[Robert P Stewart]

Originally Posted by Joestoes

Robert,
If we were looking in the 350,000 price range would we find something in the way of foreclosures?

Yes, and the answer a year or two ago was No. The real estate boom 3-4 years ago caused first time home buyers to purchase homes they couldn't truly afford with loans that were bordering on the obscene.

Consider that a first time home buyer back then was buying a $250K to $300K home when they should have been buying under $200K. For awhile, the $325K to $500K range was fairly untouched by the bubble. Now, we're seeing more and more in the $350K range - and the most interesting part of that offering? New construction foreclosures. Yes, there are either brand new or 70%-80% finished homes available at steep discounts. Your $350K purchase now will be a home that was likely $500K just a few years ago.

Robert

[Robert P Stewart]

Congratulations Minnesota, we're now in a balanced market. Whether or not a market favors buyers or sellers is determined by the number of homes on the market and the number of buyers available for those homes. A Buyers market is defined at 7+ months supply of homes, a balanced market is a 5-7 month supply of homes, and a seller's market is less than 5 months supply.

As of this week, for single family homes we are in a BALANCED market with an average 5.5 months of supply. For townhomes, we are still a buyers market at 8.0 months of supply.

This week, new pendings were up 7% from last week - and last week was good. Things are moving in the right direction.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by Robert P Stewart

When you rate an area of liveability (did I just make that word up?), I don't see how it could possibly be objective. So to answer your question - opinion. But a great opinion...

No, you didn't make the word up, but you did misspell it (livability). And is that professional or personal opinion?

[Robert P Stewart]

MY opinion - LOL.

Rating livability (thanks, BTW) is like rating art. Good luck.