Foreclosures still coming

At the end of 2010, 71,665 Minnesotans received pre-foreclosure notices. That does not bode well for 2011. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune…

About 71,665 struggling homeowners got the notices in 2010, up 8 percent from 2009, according to the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, which released the numbers Thursday. The number of notices rose 3 percent in the Twin Cities metro
area, but 15 percent elsewhere in Minnesota.

And what does that mean for the housing marketplace?

Seemingly endless waves of foreclosures in recent years have taken a human
toll, flooded the housing market and dragged prices down. Foreclosures, short
sales and other lender-mediated sales made up about 36 percent of all Twin
Cities home sales at the end of 2009. In December, they accounted for nearly 48
percent of all homes sold.

Thursday's report is further evidence that housing will trail the economic
recovery, not lead it. On the bright side, Nelson said, when the totals of
pre-foreclosure notices are lined up quarter by quarter, they appear to be
leveling somewhat from when the practice of sending them first began in 2009.

If there are some silver linings – it seems that we will not reach the record foreclosures of 2008 AND pre-foreclosures are not the same thing as foreclosures and they are petty new. They weren’t around in 2008. For some families a pre-foreclosure notice will help them avoid a foreclosure.

Submitted by Buyers Real Estate Agent, Mary Rugani.

Positive Signs for Homeowners

It’s cold and it seems like the news isn’t always good, but the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors has some good news…

Although some areas are still experiencing declines, most of the Minnesota housing market has regained its footing and is looking at a strong, slow and sustainable recovery. Values in most areas have found bottom with median home prices statewide ($150,000) the same as they were at year end 2009. This mid-point price (as many homes sold above as below the median) reflects the broadest indicator of the direction home prices are taking. The year-end average sales price is up 8.1% over year-end 2009. Home price stabilization is critical to the housing recovery and indicators look very positive that the worst is behind us.

A home available for purchase is another key indicator of the housing markets condition. The inventory of homes for sale was down 12% at the end of 2010. Fewer properties available will help restore the balance of home buyers to home sellers. When there are too many home sellers, prices fall. Similarly, when home buyers out number home sellers, home prices increase. This was very apparent during the housing bubble when home buyers rushed to buy and then more recently as home sellers facing difficult financial situations tried to sell. Many Minnesota markets have more home sellers than home buyers, however the number is moving in the right direction.

Both pending and closed transactions moved in a positive direction as we closed out 2010. December 2010 closed transactions increased when compared with the same months in 2009 (+12%) and 2008 (+24.9%). This two-year swing in consumer confidence is another sign that Minnesota has turned the corner and is moving forward. Pending transactions, homes in which contracts were drafted but close in the future, were up +19.8% and +34.6% over December transactions in 2009 and 2008 respectively.

Submitted by Minneapolis Realtor, Mary Rugani

Short Sale?

What is a short sale? According to the RISMedia…

In short sales, lenders accept a sales price below what they’re owed. For a bank, that’s often cheaper than foreclosing and reselling the house in an unstable market. Typically, sellers in short sale situations are behind on payments and owe way more than the house is worth. Selling short is a way to move on with their lives—minus the more serious credit damage of foreclosure.

And…

It all means that any buyer serious about getting a house in 2010 is likely to reckon with them during the search. Thousands of buyers have scored fabulous deals with short sales. Thousands of others have learned the ropes the hard way.

One of the frustrating things about the short sale, is that the buyer has very little control over how the sale will happen or how long it will take. It’s a time when a home buyers most needs an expert on his or her side – a time when you need a buyers only real estate agent.

Submitted by Minneapolis home buyer agent, Mary Rugani.

Minneapolis Housing Market is tough

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune...

The final numbers are in and it's official: 2010 was the worst year for home sales since the local Realtors association began tracking home sales in the metro area nearly a decade ago.

The article quotes from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors...

For 2011 the association predicts that sale prices will rise a few thousand dollars, to $175,000, but that depends entirely on interest rates and how quickly foreclosures are processed, the group said. That process now takes about year.

Though interest rates have risen slightly in recent months -- still hovering near 5 percent -- the decline in sale prices has caused housing affordability to rise to near-record levels. That's why sales agents are optimistic that the market will improve slightly, or at least stabilize.

For buyers that tempered good news. Housing prices have remained low, but they have not dropped significantly. And it sounds as if the probably won't. If the interest rate stays low and mortgage companies start lending again, the market could improve for buyers.

In the words of Herb Tousley, a real estate expert at the University of St. Thomas...

"I think it's going to be a year to be cautiously optimistic," Tousley said.

Submitted by Minneapolis Realtor, Mary Rugani.

Energy Conservation at Home

RIS Media reports…

“The Department of Energy says home heating costs will average $986 this winter,” notes Alliance President Kateri Callahan. “So cutting that cost by 5, 10 or even 20 percent with energy efficiency really pays off.” She adds, “Simple car maintenance and smarter driving habits can reduce the number of costly trips to the gas pump, too.”

They offer some great tips for keeping your energy conservation high and your heating bills low:

• Conduct a do-it-yourself home energy audit to pinpoint where your home is wasting energy and money and identify improvements to increase energy efficiency and comfort.


• Plug up leaks to the outside.


• Properly maintain your HVAC system.


• Keep furnace filters clean.


• Set it and forget it. A programmable thermostat “remembers for you” to lower the heat.


• If your furnace or boiler is more than 15 years old, consider replacing it with an Energy Star qualified unit, whose energy efficiency exceeds that of a conventional one by 15%.


• Sealing ducts increases their efficiency and is cost-effective—often lowering home energy bills by enough to cover the cost.


• Opening curtains, blinds and other window treatments on west- and south-facing windows allows sunlight to naturally heat your home during the day.


• Energy Star-labeled windows can cut heating costs by as much as 25% compared with older, inefficient windows (such as those with single panes) and by 7-15% compared with new, conventional (not energy-efficient) double-paned windows.


• Get a jump-start on the January 2012 phase-in of energy-efficient lighting products in the U.S. market by starting now to swap out inefficient incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).


• Heating hot water is the third largest energy expense in a home, accounting for about 12% of home energy use.


• Is it time to replace your old refrigerator with an energy-efficient model? Find out at http://livingefficiently.org/product/refrigerators-time-upgrade.


• Also look for the Energy Star label on more than 55 additional types of products for the home to save up to 30% on related electricity bills. Find product details at http://www.energystar.gov/.

Submitted by Buyer's Agent Mary Rugani.

December 2010 Housing Market Video

Minneapolis REALTORS puts perspective on the housing market. Looking back it seems as the the housing market hit rock botton in 2009 – it’s time to take a look now at how the market is bouncing back and what kind of buying makes sense.