St Cloud MN Real Estate Blog

Originally posted at http://StCloudEdina.com/blog on 01/28/09:

A couple of big things should stand out to home owners as we bid adieu to 2008.

1) Median and average home prices did drop about 12% in the St Cloud area for 2008.

2) Homes are still selling at a pretty good rate.  In some areas, we saw good increases in units sold.

Click on the file below to see the overall real estate sales statistics for St Cloud, Waite Park, Sartell, and Sauk Rapids Minnesota.  Please note that this file is intended for personal knowledge.  If you are planning on using any of the information contained herein, please acknowledge its author (Jason Tangen - e-PRO, GRI - Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud) properly.

Download file

If you would like to view previous Tangen reports, visit http://stcloudedina.com/blog/the_tangen_report/.

If you would like me to break down the statistics for your specific neighborhood or area in Central MN, please post your request here for everyone to see and use in the future.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real estate broker associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud Minnesota

www.StCloudEdina.com - Try the e-Market Analysis free home value estimator.

www.StCloudEdina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St Cloud MN

Whew.  I noticed late tonight that the total number of active and pending foreclosed properties on the St Cloud MLS.  That is a huge increase from roughly 200 that we had at the start of 2008.

This surplus of foreclosed properties is making for some phenomenal buys!  For example:  I had one buyer just pick up a 6 BR, 4 BA two story home in Sartell’s “The Wilds” development for just over $180K.  Crazy.

So go ahead and take a look.  With interest rates floating around the 5.5% range, this might be the perfect time to buy.  I can’t guarantee that we are at the bottom yet, but I do know that this influx of foreclosed properties should stabilize and start to deteriorate as the year progresses.  Therefore, the last of the great flood of bank owned properties should be hitting us this year.

Happy house hunting.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud.

http://StCloudEdina.com - Get a free list of the foreclosed properties listed on the St Cloud MLS.

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Try the e-Market Analysis free home value estimator.

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on January 22nd, 2009:

A big thank you to Mark Timpane at Edina Realty Mortgage for putting this to print:

Thinking about refinancing into another conventional?  There might be another option for you.  Fast forward three to five years from now.  The real estate market correction will be behind us and you decide that now is the time to move onto a newer home.  But what if rates are at 6.5 % or more and your home is valued at or a little higher than you bought it.  Is there an option that can make you home more attractive?  If you refinanced today with an FHA loan at 5.0% for example, when you go to sell, your buyer would be able to assume your mortgage (only $500) and take advantage of today’s lower rates.  The general rule is that for every 1% decline in interest rates a buyer gets 10% more purchasing power.  So the cost of assuming a $172,500 home has the same monthly payment as buying a $150,000 home at future interest rates.  So you have now positioned your home against homes with fewer amenities, and other $165,000 homes cannot compete on a costs basis.

Need to refinance-call me today

Mark Timpane

Edina Realty Mortgage

320.240.6157

www.markthemortgageguy.com

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud

http://StCloudEdina.com - Get a free list of the bank owned properties on the St Cloud MLS

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Find out what you home might be worth if sold.

Originally posted at http://StCloudEdina.com/blog on 1/9/09:

I am wrapping up some of the initial numbers for the real estate sales from the St Cloud MLS and one stat jumped out at me recently.  It looks like the average payout that home sellers are willing to give to an agent who finds them a buyer (Compensation to Buyer’s Broker) has gone up quite substantially in the past few years.

According to the St Cloud MLS, commissions paid to a Buyer’s Broker for a real estate transaction have gone up 15% in the last 4 years. 

What does that mean?  People are more willing to pay a premium in order to get their homes sold.

It kind of goes against the ordinary flow of business during a recession.  Most people flock to the Walmarts, McDonald’s and other quality (but cheap) businesses during tough times.  In real estate, they flock to who does the job best.

It makes sense.  If selling real estate is tougher than ever, you would want to use the real estate agent who is the best.  If that means spending an extra percent or two, so be it.  It is better than making payments on a home you no longer want and getting less for your home when it does finally sell.

Look for my year end “Tangen Report” to be posted here in the next week.  For those of you who don’t know, the “Tangen Report” is a quarterly breakdown of the real estate activity in St Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Sartell, and Waite Park in Central Minnesota.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud

http://StCloudEdina.com - Home of the e-Market Analysis (Free home value estimator)

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty - Search homes for sale in St Cloud MN

Posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on December 27th, 2008:

I am a little anxious to get started on the final tally of numbers for the St Cloud MLS in 2008.  In the meantime, I am finishing up some of my own personal numbers and one stuck out as a glaring “heads-up” to any potential seller in the St Cloud MLS.

There were 13 listings last year that I lost out on to other agents or chose to not list.  Most of them were because of price.  My starting price was too low for what each seller needed to get in order to sell.  I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but the market is going down for those of you who hadn’t heard.  My early estimations are that we will be down nearly 8% from last year in both median and average sales prices on the St Cloud MLS.  I cannot sell your house for the same price it was worth in 2005.  I’m sorry, but it just won’t happen.

Out of those 13 listings, NONE HAVE SOLD!  Ouch.  While this is a perfect “I told you so moment,” I feel truly bad for every single one of those families.  Some really needed to sell their homes.  I also hate losing listings (for whatever the reason), so that frustrates me too.  Even if homes don’t sell, they are great generators of potential buyers.

While I would like this stat to change in the new year, I cannot control the market.  What I can pledge is to continue being honest with potential home sellers so that they are aware of what they need to do in order to sell their homes.  That with a little pinch of a market turn will make 2009 a banner year for my real estate business.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud MN

http://StCloudEdina.com - Home of the e-Market Analysis (Free Home Value Estimator)

http://StCloudEdina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St Cloud MN

Originally posted at http://stcloudedina.com/blog on December 19th, 2008:

I wanted to give a quick “Thank you” to Brian Musech of Batteries Plus in St Cloud MN.  Just before going on vacation I had the joy of owning a laptop that gave me about 15 minutes of run time before the battery died.  As I like to use my laptop as a movie viewer for the kids when we fly, I needed to get a new laptop battery quickly.

I went to Batteries Plus in St Cloud and met with one of their sales consultants.  They not only knew exactly what I needed, but they also had it in stock so that I could get my new battery immediately and be on my way.

If you are in need of a battery - any kind of battery - give the folks at Batteries Plus a quick visit.  With their great customer service and knowledge of the product they sell, I am sure that you will be as impressed with them as I was.

Thanks again to Dolora and Brian Musech with Batteries Plus and keep up the great work.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real estate broker associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud MN

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Find open houses in Waite Park MN

http://StCloudEdina.com - Home of the e-Market Analysis (free home value estimator)

Originally posted at http://stcloudedina.com/blog on 12/16/08:

I showed a home to a potential buyer yesterday and was quickly reminded that some people need to go back to school when it comes to selling their homes.

As I unlocked the door and we slowly walked in to the house, it hit me.  I looked over at my clients and quickly realized that they had noticed it as well.  “I’m not sure what that is, but it can probably be cleaned out.” I stated.

After walking through what is undoubtedly a beautiful home (if it was cleaned up), my buyers looked at me and said “It just didn’t feel like their home.”

“What would we need to fix with this to make it the right home?” I questioned, knowing full well that this was exactly the home they have been searching 4 months to find.

“I just don’t like it.” one of my buyers stated, “I cannot live in a home where my very first impression is ‘WHAT’S THAT STENCH’”

Understanding of their thought process, I told them we should wait on this one.  I would call the listing agent and see if we couldn’t get the home thoroughly cleaned and maybe come back for a second look.  My buyers agreed and we left.

Moral of the story.  If you are selling your home, make sure that you have all of your bases covered before allowing tours.  In this case, the home was not cleaned properly before allowing us to walk through.  The real problem was from leftovers that had obviously been left to rot on the stove for the past few days.

I always tell my sellers that buyers have sized up your home within 15 seconds of being in the front door.  They have decided that they like the location, the price and amenities are good, and now all the home can do is un-sell itself.

Smell is one way for a home to un-sell itself.  Cleanliness, bad floor plans, unfixed maintenance problems, and being outdated are just a few of the other ways.  I like to use this example when I discuss the topic of smell in a home:

I was a competitive swimmer in high school (and a fairly decent one).  I actually still have a varsity record at Monticello High School (over 15 years removed now).  Anyway, because of all that time spent in a pool, I am a little bit soggy and I love the smell of chlorine.  It reminds me of good times as a youth.  Consequently, when I walk into a home and they have been scrubbing with bleach it is appealing to me.

I don’t recommend the bleach smell as a home owner trying to sell.  Most people aren’t as fond of bleach as I am.  Instead, I recommed the baked goods smell.  There are candles that smell just like cinnamon rolls, cookies, or whatever if you don’t have the time to make some goodies yourself.  These are the smells that seem to make most buyers think of good thoughts.

Remember, you only have about 15 seconds after they enter your home to make a good impression.  Make them count.

Jason Tangen - GRI e-PRO - Real estate broker associate with Edina Realty St Cloud

http://StCloudEdina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St Cloud, MN

http://StCloudEdina.com - Search Real Estate For Sale in Sartell MN

Originally posted at www.stcloudedina.com/blog on November 8th, 2008:

While it wouldn’t have been my first choice of things to do with a whole lot of money, I have to admit that the new St Cloud Regional Library is a very impressive structure that accents the landscape of downtown St Cloud quite nicely.

I had the chance to do a tour and utilize one of their meeting spaces (free for non-profit organizations) with a group from the Chamber of Commerce the other day.  While I started out very skeptical of this expensive structure, once I got inside I was really quite impressed.  Hopefully it gets used like the citizens of St Cloud think it will be for many years to come.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud

Planning on selling your home?  Over 80% of buyers are finding their homes on-line.  Use the real estate agent that is the best in Central MN for real estate advertising on the web.

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Try the e-Market Analysis (free home value estimator).

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on December 15th, 2008:

It is always a little bit of fun to start digging yourself out (the first couple of times) each year in Minnesota after a healthy snowfall.  Yesterday’s storm did not disappoint.  While today’s biting cold temps could be done without, yesterday was great.

Between joking with the neighbors, shoveling out the driveway with my family, and helping to push out a pizza delivery kid who got stuck in the cul-de-sac; we had an all around great day.  It also helped that the Minnesota Vikings blew out the Arizona Cardinals.

The funny thing about inclimate weather is that it always makes the phone ring for my real estate business.  At first, I could never figure out why I would always get so many calls with real estate related questions when it snows heavy or if there were bad storms in the summer.  Yesterday, after repeatedly questioning potential buyers, I figured out exactly why.

It turns out, if there isn’t anything better to do, people like to search real estate online (duh Jason - it sure took a genius to figure that out).  Knowing that I have the only website in St Cloud that is ranked within immediate vieweing range (top 4 or better) on Google, Yahoo, and MSN’s Live Search search results for “real estate st cloud mn” makes it only stand to reason why I would get more work calls on inclimate days.

I guess with that in mind, “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow….”

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud.

http://StCloudEdina.com - Get a free list of the bank owned properties for sale in St Cloud, MN

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Open house search in St Cloud, MN

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on Nov. 1st, 2008:

We have seen the end of a crazy period of time both in the real estate market and in the stock market.  It is truly amazing how things can change so fast.  Click on the file below to see the overall real estate sales statistics for St Cloud, Waite Park, Sartell, and Sauk Rapids Minnesota.  Please note that this file is intended for personal knowledge.  If you are planning on using any of the information contained herein, please acknowledge its author (Jason Tangen - e-PRO, GRI - Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud) properly.

Download file

The one big item of concern that I touch base on is the fact that real estate values (both median and average) showed approximately a 7% decline from the 3rd quarter of 2007.  Something to think about if you are preparing to sell your home.

If you would like to view previous Tangen reports, visit http://stcloudedina.com/blog/the_tangen_report/.

If you would like me to break down the statistics for your specific neighborhood or area in Central MN, please post your request here for everyone to see and use in the future.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud MN

http://StCloudEdina.com - Home of the e-Market Analysis (free home value estimator).

Looking to sell?  Use the real estate agent who is the best on the web for advertising real estate.