Companies Do Not Fool Around On April Fools Day!

Many large corporations aren't fooling around this April 1st of 2013. Google came out with a few new apps, one being the smell search feature called Google Nose. Google also dropped a new version of Maps called Treasure mode. Among the other jokers, Sony revealed its new "Animalia" electronics line. It features cat friendly headphones, dog paw friendly TV remotes, and a hamster wheel with its own home theater system! Click here for an extended list of April fools spoofs!

Bidding With Multiple Offers: The Smart Way

Most real estate markets are picking up and the Minneapolis market is no exception. The housing affordability index is high and home buyers have been waiting to jump into action. With the shortage of good inventory however, there are more buyers than suitable properties, and we are seeing some multiple offer situations.

Multiple offer situations can cause buyers to make hasty and sometimes irrational decisions. The first piece of advice for buyers is to relax, take a deep breathe, and don't worry too much about the other offers. There will be some competition for the house, don't let it pressure you into making an offer, especially if you're not ready. You might find that you will have to write an offer sooner than you thought. If you are comfortable with the house and the situation, move forward.

Only pay what the house is worth to you, and only pay what you are comfortable paying. You don't know what the other offer or offers may be, they could all be "low ball" offers! There are many different scenarios that could happen and you may be the most attractive offer for many different reasons. Focus on the negotiation of your offer, don't worry about the other buyers, you aren't working with them, you are working with the selling agent. If you are serious about the house, put your best foot forward with your earnest money deposit. It shows the buyers you mean business!

Final piece of advice. If you finally find the house you have been looking for and you have to compete with other buyers, you don't want to have any regrets. Would you like to find out that you missed by $500 dollars? would you have paid $1000 more to get it? If you don't end up with the house, at least you know that you gave it your best effort.

Written by: Brad Novy

When Will Spring Come!?

Does this Minnesota winter seem longer than normal? Well that's because it has been! The average temperature for this time of year in Minneapolis is in the mid fifties! This drawn out cold weather is not slowing down home buyers though! Spring is one of the busiest times of the year for home buying activity, the low inventory levels are driving some competition in the marketplace! If you are buying a house, you might find yourself in a multiple offer situation!

The weather forecasts another snow fall this weekend, but it may be mother nature's last hurrah for winter. Everyday it seems that the snow is melting away, soon we will see the brown grass turn green, leaves forming on the trees, and the ice melting on the lakes.

Before you buy or sell a house, make sure you have done your research, and have consulted with a professional. This Spring will be very busy and it's important that you are prepared to move fast in today's market!

Attention Apple Valley Area Residents!

There will be a Home and Garden show on Saturday, April 6th! This event will feature over 100 vendors from the area, representing many different companies and proffessions. Also, there will be animals from the MN Zoo, plenty of activities for the kids, free ice cream, and free seminars! Come to this Home and Garden show for free, no addmission charge! For more information about this event click here.

Parade Of Homes!

Have you ever been to the Parade Of Homes? If you have, you are probably just as excited as I am right now! If you have never participated in the parade of homes, you are missing out, and you need to mark a day on your calendar and go to the parade!

The Parade Of Homes is an event that spans from March 2nd to the 24th. During this time, home builders throughout the Twin Cities will have their model homes open to view! All newly built model homes are open Thursday - Sunday from noon to 6pm. The Parade Of Homes also features remodeled homes. These will be open on Friday from 1pm - 7pm and Sat/Sun from noon to 6pm.

Look at different types of homes made by all of the different builders. Shop for your next home! Check out the different areas of the metro. Discover trending styles and decor. Make it a cheap date!

Ready to get started? Grab a directory for the parade, you can find them at any Holiday Stationstore! What are you waiting for!? Get out there and check out some homes! More info here

Low Inventory Levels Means High Prices.

The number of new listings was down in 143 of 146 metro areas this January. The listings inventory fell to a six-year low according to a monthly report from Realtor.com. Supply is low, and with the economy coming back strong, home buyers who have been patiently waiting to buy, are now ready. Supply of homes is dropping, and the demand for homes is rising. That means one thing, higher prices!

 Inventory is probably close to as low as it will go. With home prices going higher, we will start to see more listings as home owners are looking to sell and move up, that is good news for both home buyers and home sellers!

Apple Valley Market Update!

Changes in the real estate market are happening, and the recovery of the market is becoming more publicly known. Since last January, the inventory of available homes in the twin cities has gone down 32.2%! The recovering economy and low interest rates means more people are looking to buy houses, therefore, demand is rising. If you aren't sure why this is significant, it means that prices are rising! The median sales prices of homes in the twin cities has risen 14.3% since last January.

The Apple Valley real estate market is booming! The median sales price has risen 30.2% to $185,000 in the last year! Home owners are finding relief and peace of mind in this market turnaround. The average time on the market for a sale is under 100 days. This is all good news for people who are looking to sell their house. It is also good news for buyers, knowing that the market will more than likely put them in a good position for a quick gain in equity. Click here for a more detailed look into the Twin Cities market.

Everything you need to learn the Twin Cities real estate market.

The Minneapolis Association of Realtors website offers a very unique tool to help people learn about the real estate market of the twin cities. This tool is great for everyone from home buyers and home sellers, to real estate investors, to individuals who just want to learn more about the market. This tool is appropriately called, "The Thing".

"The Thing" lets you search for information on any part of the metro area you wish. It really has every metric you could think of. Click here to learn more about the real estate market using "The Thing"

Are the mortgage rates as low as they will go?

Mortgage rates have risen very slightly for three out of the past four weeks. It has been two months since we have seen the lowest recorded rates of 3.31 percent for the average 30-year fixed-rate loan.

Frank Nothaft, (Chief Economist for Freddie Mac) seems to think that the all- time low rates may be behind us. Nothaft foresees the rates to climb up to 3.75 percent by years end, and move to above 4 percent the next year.

The rates will still be very favorable for new home buyers for a while, however, home owners exploring the option of a re-finance shouldn't wait around too much longer if they want to lock in with these historically low rates. As the economy shapes up, rising rates are a natural occurrence. They will fluctuate a little, but the days of 3.31 percent may be gone.

New Year

Happy New Year! There are a lot of exiting things to come in 2013. We are very happy to announce that we have a new member on the JAM Team! Brad Novy is working with us and will be attaining his real estate license by early February. He just received his Bachelors from St. Cloud State University in December of 2012. Brad will be a great fit with our team and will help our growing business. Brad specializes in working with lake homes and relocating buyers that are new to the Twin Cities area.  We are happy to have such a motivated, kind and diligent new agent share his talents with the team and our clients. 

The real estate market really took a turn in 2012. In the next few weeks we will have the Twin Cities Housing Market Annual Report available. Please let us know if you would like a copy.  Remember, we are happy to be resource to you for any housing related information.

RE/MAX is celebrating its 40th anniversary and Jacqueline is attending the RE/MAX R4 Convention in February.  We look forward to sharing what we learned about the direction of real estate industry from some of the top minds in the world.