Weekly Market Activity Report

"X" marks the spot on your typical pirate treasure map, but it can also be an intrepid signifier of a changing market. This edition of the MAAR Weekly Market Activity Report shows off a big, bold, red "X" on our "Last Three Months Inventory for Sale" graph (page 4). The diverging trend lines are a marked indicator that the supply of homes has been held at bay relative to recent years for the past several months. For the week ending May 10, the number of new listings was 15.5 percent behind last year. With new listings still sluggish, expect this trend to continue.

Pending sales were down 5.3 percent compared to a year ago. Yes, weekly pending sales are still battling to surpass last year's numbers, but we hope to mark an uplifting "X" on our "Last Three Months Weekly Pending Sales" (page 3) treasure map later this year.

Click the logo below or click here for this week's full report. Visit Market Info for more research reports.

TOP

Email Billing is Coming

The third- and fourth-quarter MLS billing will be sent via both regular mail and email. During that time, we will be calling brokers and office managers when we receive notice of incorrect email addresses.

January 1, 2009 is our target date for our first email-only billing. If you have not updated your email address, we encourage you to do so by visiting www.mplsrealtor.com. At the top of the page, select the My Account tab and log on. Under the Member Services heading, select Review or Change Member Personal Information.

The email address you provided is shown under the Internet Info heading. If it is not accurate, please make the necessary changes.

TOP

REALTOR® of the Year Nominations Now Being Accepted

MAAR would like to recognize one of its members as "REALTOR® of the Year." It is our way of showing appreciation to members for their volunteerism to our association as well as for any involvement with the national and state associations.

Please provide complete and accurate information. For this award, involvement in local association activity will receive the greatest consideration. The MAAR REALTOR® of the Year selection panel will recommend one member as REALTOR® of the Year to the Board of Directors for approval. Current President, President-Elect and Immediate Past-President of MAAR are not eligible.

Additional criteria can include anything that makes the REALTOR® candidate stand apart, including involvement with nonprofit groups, offices held, committee work, special assignments, other business ventures, civic activity, and charity work.

Click here or on the image for a one-page form that you can return to Amy Ransom at amyr@mplsrealtor.com or 5750 Lincoln Drive, Edina, MN 55436. Deadline: September 30, 2008

TOP

News from Supra: New eKEY Application to Run on Blackberry

GE Security is developing a new eKEY application that will run on Blackberry. It will allow agents to open iBoxes, view showing information and search MLS listings. read the full press release

Source: GE Security, Inc.

TOP

News from BATC: Homebuildling Remains Slow But Steady

Residential builders in the Twin Cities continue to wait out the housing market correction before beginning new work. Since 2005, downward movement in the housing market has challenged the entire industry but local trends have remained flat throughout the past several months. While building activity is not at levels comparable to past years, there is steadiness in recent months.

There were 293 units permitted during the month of April 2008, up from 229 units permitted in March 2008. Year-to-date activity in 2008 trails 2007, with 1,104 units permitted thus far, compared to 2,883 units permitted through the same point last year.

Minneapolis led the metro in building activity for the month with 81 units permitted in April. Blaine followed with 16 units permitted, Eden Prairie with 15 units permitted, and Chanhassen and Maple Grove with 14 each. read the full press release

TOP

Form News for Brokers/Office Administrators from the Membership Department

If you are transferring an agent from one office to another, please complete the "Member Changes" section of the REALTOR® Change Form where it says, "Transferring from (old office)" and "Transferring to (new office)"

The "Change Office Information" section is used if the office itself is changing its name and/or address, etc.

Also, please make a copy of our latest REALTOR® Change Form and Membership Application to keep on hand at your office. We do update these periodically, and each has been updated in the past month. Both can always be printed right off our website as well. Simply go to www.mplsrealtor.com, click on "Download Forms" in the upper right hand corner of the homepage under "Things To Do."

Or click here! Most of the Membership forms are located under MLS and Membership.

TOP

More on Foreclosure, Short Sales, and the Mortgage Industry

Foreclosure Prevention Workshops
St. Paul and the Minnesota Home Ownership Center are sponsoring a series of foreclosure prevention workshops for people who are concerned about making mortgage payments, know someone who is in trouble or just want more information. Two similar workshops last fall drew more than 250 people each.

Mortgage lenders and community-based organizations will be available to offer free advice and answer questions, and attendees will be able to hear short presentations on legal rights and the foreclosure process.

Future scheduled workshops:
• Tuesday, May 20: 4:30–8:30 p.m., Discovery Elementary School, 301 Second Av NE, Buffalo
• Thursday, June 5: 4:30–8:30 p.m., Eagan Community Center, 1501 Central Pkwy, Eagan

Call the Home Ownership Center at 651.659.9336 or go to www.hocmn.org for more information. St. Paul mortgage foreclosure prevention counselors are available at 651.266.6626 or www.stpaul.gov/foreclosure. Renters with foreclosure questions can call HOME Line at 612.728.5767.

Foreclosure Data and Reports
Mortgage Crisis Continues To Affect MN Communities
A report by HousingLink shows that the foreclosure crisis continues to be a problem for communities across Minnesota. According to HousingLink’s projections, over 28,000 Minnesotans will lose their homes to foreclosure in 2008. In greater Minnesota, the highest rates of foreclosure are in counties surrounding the Twin Cities metro area and major regional centers such as Duluth and Rochester.

The report was sponsored by Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, Minnesota Housing, and the Minnesota Home Ownership Center . To view a copy of the full report, or to look at county-by-county foreclosure data, visit www.gmhf.com  (follow the link for "Foreclosure Crisis: Tools and Resources").

TOP

Public Affairs

Preliminary Central Corridor Design Plans Available for Review
Preliminary design plans for the Central Corridor light rail line will be the subject of a series of public hearings beginning May 29 and continuing for several weeks thereafter. To view a copy of these plans, click here. To view a copy of the plans in person, visit one of the sites on this list. For more information about the May 29 joint public hearing to be convened by the Ramsey and Hennepin County Rail Authorities and MnDOT, click here.

REALTORS® Return from Capitol Hill
Last week, REALTORS® from across the nation descended upon Washington, DC for NAR's Midyear Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo, and on Saturday, May 17, the Board of Directors of the National Association of REALTORS® met to move forward on key real estate issues. Here is a quick breakdown of just some of the important topics covered.

National Property Repository "Proof" Okayed
Directors gave the go-ahead for NAR staff to negotiate with a technology provider to deliver a "proof of concept" working model for a national library/archive of all real estate parcels in the United States. The library is intended to arm REALTORS® with a broker-controlled, member-only accessed, one-stop repository of property information to compete against the current availability of such information from a variety of online sources–all of which are accessible to consumers.

Immigration Statement of Principles Approved
To enable the association to represent the interests of real estate while federal immigration issues are debated in Congress, the directors adopted a statement of principles on immigration. NAR supports the right of foreign citizens to acquire and own real estate and supports the free flow of international capital for real estate and opposes laws that would impede that flow. The directors also approved support of a federal resolution on securing borders to prevent illegal immigration while allowing for the flow of legal immigrants to accommodate the labor needs of the economy.

MLS Provisions Recognize Short Sales
In changes to the association's multiple listing issues and policies, new MLS model rules enable practitioners to alert one another to potential short sales and put them on notice about the sharing of any reduction in gross listing commission required by a lender. MLSs are given the authority to decide whether or not their participants have to disclose reasonably-known short sales. Another MLS policy change gives MLSs discretionary authority to enable participants to offer cooperative compensation through the MLS as a percentage of the net sale price. The net sale price is the gross price minus buyer upgrades in new construction and seller concessions.

2009 National Officers Elected
The board elected the association's national officers for 2009. They are Charles McMillan, CIPS, Irving, TX, President; Vicki Cox Golder, CRB, Tucson, AZ, President-Elect; Ronald Phipps, CRS, GRI, Warwick, RI, First Vice-President; and James Helsel, Jr., CRE, CCIM, Lemoyne, PA, Treasurer.

Strong RPAC Contributions Reported
RPAC is on its way toward meeting the $10 million fund-raising goal set for this year by NAR President Dick Gaylord. As of April 30, REALTORS® donated $4,559,853. North Dakota is the first state to reach 160 percent of the fair-share goal, Veissi said. Twelve states and territories have already met their RPAC goals.

Membership Count Expected to Dip
NAR has budgeted for a 2009 membership of just under 1.2 million members, a small drop from 2008, and for a 2010 membership of just over 1.2 million members. The association annual dues of $80 will remain unchanged.

Realtor.com Changes Create More Value
Many enhancements have been made to NAR's official property listing website. These include an increase in the number of photos per listing (from one to four) for the basic free listings available to all REALTORS®, and neighborhood and school information for each listing. For the fee-based premium listings, practitioners can now get up to 25 high-definition photos and the addition of videos as part of a listing detail page.

Sources: Ramsey County; National Association of REALTORS®

TOP

Education and Professional Development

Take the Code of Ethics Class Online for Free!
You DO NOT have to pay any online vendor for this class! Go to www.realtor.org and click Education. After passing the course, you will automatically be credited with having completed your Quadrennial Ethics requirement for 2005–2008 and receive 3 FREE continuing education credits approved for you by your local association, MAAR.

Added: Robbinsdale, Lakes & Streams
By popular demand, we have added two classes to the schedule in May, starting with "Robbinsdale Area Schools: A 'Choice' Location," a 4-credit course on Thursday, May 22 from 8 a.m. to noon. The second addition is "The Power of REALTORS® to Protect the Lakes and Streams of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed," a 3-credit course on Wednesday, May 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. See below for more details.

Upcoming MAAR classes listed below. Start your registration process here.

Code of Ethics / Agency & Fair Housing
May 21, 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. / 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The Code of Ethics (COE) portion of the program will provide a review of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) COE. You will receive a great review of the foundation of our business and presentations of real-world case studies that demonstrate the importance of the NAR COE. This class meets the NAR 2008 COE training requirement. The newly designed Agency & Fair Housing portion of the program reviews the various federal and state protected classes as they relate to REALTOR® duties and Minnesota Agency Law. This course will also provide a look at demographic changes in the real estate market, homeownership trends and a review of fair housing court cases involving real estate.
Credits: 2.5 for Code of Ethics / 2.0 for Agency & Fair Housing
Location: Southdale Hennepin Resource Library, 7001 York Ave S, Edina
Tuition: For our 30th anniversary, it's $30 for BOTH classes
or $30 for EACH class (sorry, no splitsies!)

Robbinsdale Area Schools: A "Choice" Location
May 22, 8:00 a.m. – noon
Robbinsdale wants to help you help families make a home in their district, which includes all or part of seven cities in the northwest suburbs. The Robbinsdale district is a "choice" location because families have so many academic options to pursue that best fit the needs of their children. Robbinsdale offers rigorous International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement coursework from 6th to 12th grade and a popular, comprehensive K-8 Spanish Immersion program. Families are also attracted to the incredible fine arts programs available at every school, including orchestra beginning in 4th grade and showcased at an annual choral, band and orchestral performance at Orchestra Hall. And that's only the tip of the iceberg! See the rest at this informative, fast-paced session.
Credits: 4
Location: Sunny Hollow Elementary School, 8808 Medicine Lake Road, New Hope, MN
Tuition: $48 REALTOR®, $96 Non-REALTOR®

eEssentials 4 – How to Excel with Excel (class is full)
May 22, 9:00 a.m. – noon
As REALTORS®, we can use the power of Excel for stats, graphs, profit-loss statements and more. You will be introduced to elements such as spreadsheet data entry, graph generation and creating simple formulas. This class will use NorthstarMLS Matrix and Word. If you need a refresher on either of these, we strongly recommend eEssentials 1 and eEssentials 3 before taking this course.
Credits: 3
Location: The PDC@RFC, 4450 W 76th St, Edina, MN 55435
Tuition: $36 REALTOR®, $72 Non-REALTOR®

The Power of REALTORS® to Protect the Lakes
and Streams of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed
May 28, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Do you sell lakeshore, stream, pond or wetland property? Does water quality affect property values? As a REALTOR®, where do you find specific information about lakes and streams? How clean is the lake or stream? What information should you share with new and potential lakeshore property owners? If any of these questions pertain to you or your business, this is your class.
Credits: 3
Location: The PDC@RFC, 4450 W 76th St, Edina, MN 55435
Tuition: $36 REALTOR®, $72 Non-REALTOR®

Creating Opportunities:
Featuring the PBS Film, The House We Live In
May 28, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Film, popcorn and CEs! In this session, we will view the PBS feature film The House We Live In. This film will help clear away the biological underbrush and make visible the underlying social, economic, and political conditions that disproportionately channel advantages and opportunities for many communities. Following the film, there will be a conversation about Fair Housing, a discussion of diversity and what it takes to respect cultural differences while building a more just and equitable society.
Credits: 3
Location: MAAR Office, 5750 Lincoln Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55436
Tuition: $36 REALTOR®, $72 Non-REALTOR®

eEssentials 5 – Making Your Point with PowerPoint
May 29, 9:00 a.m. – noon
PowerPoint gives you the tools to create impressive and informative visual presentations. You will learn about inserting photographs, changing presentation design, colors, slide transitions, auto-play and more.
Credits: 3
Location: The PDC@RFC, 4450 W 76th St, Edina, MN 55435
Tuition: $36 REALTOR®, $72 Non-REALTOR®

Challenges of the Condo/Townhouse Sale
May 29, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
There is a different set of issues and challenges real estate professionals face when working within common-interest communities like condos and townhouses. Are you aware of what documents are required to complete the transaction? What rights do buyers have with regards to community documents? What are the state-regulated timelines and requirements when selling these types of properties? This class is designed to provide answers to questions such as these. Leave with a wealth of tips and information you will be able to use in your next condo/townhouse sale.
Credits: 4
Location: MAAR Office, 5750 Lincoln Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55436
Tuition: $48 REALTOR®, $96 Non-REALTOR®

TOP

Be a Hero to Your Clients
Listingbook™ is Coming to NorthstarMLS

Designed to complement NorthstarMLS, Listingbook offers a unique set of client servicing tools that benefit REALTORS® by increasing profitability, productivity and professional service. Listingbook Agent Essentials(SM) will be available to all REALTORS® as a member benefit at no additional cost.

Listingbook's Client Manager gives the agent a secure gateway for their buyers and sellers to access the MLS™ listings by invitation only. Clients are empowered with the information they need to make smart decisions.

Listingbook works for you 24/7, so you don't have to, acting as your personal assistant. Save time while making your communications easier, your clients happier, your relationships stronger and your business more efficient.

Automatically supply reliable, personalized, current market information, and interact with buyers while guiding and monitoring their activity. At the same time, keep anxious sellers calm in today's market with Listingbook's listing retention
and price reduction tools.

Listingbook was designed from the ground up by agents for agents to save you time and provide you with the high level of service that builds client-for-life relationships. For more information, contact Todd Swanson at tswanson@listingbook.com or 651.492.4222 or visit www.listingbook.com.

Source: Listingbook LLC

TOP

New USPS® Rates Effective May 12

Stamps Increased by One Cent to 42¢ on May 12
"Forever Stamp" Will Still Get Your Letter Delivered

The price for a one-ounce First-Class stamp increased from 41 to 42 cents on May 12. Prices for other mailing services, such as Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services (including single-piece Parcel Post), and Special Services also changed (see chart below).

According to the USPS, the average increase by class of mail is at or below the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

Consistent with a new law*, prices for mailing services will be adjusted annually each May. The Postal Service plans to provide 90 days’ notice before the price changes each year. Prices for all postal products and services are available at usps.com/prices.

*The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act

Source: USPS

TOP

The 100. Updated through April 2008

We have completed the latest edition of "The 100" (click here or on the logo above). These monthly community snapshots have become an invaluable resource to many REALTORS®, or so we've been told. If you're not using them already, have a look. Start with your own city or the one you do the most business in. Does it match your expectation? Would you share this with a client? We're always interested in receiving feedback.

Contact MAAR Research Manager, Jeff Allen, at jeffa@mplsrealtor.com or 952.988.3126 if you have questions or comments about this research tool.

TOP

MAAR's Housing Supply Outlook for May 2008

For a full, detailed look at how changing supply-demand dynamics are affecting various price ranges and property types in our regional housing market, take a look at the May Housing Supply Outlook. You won't find anything with this much detail on the Twin Cities housing market anywhere else. Highlights:

The entire housing market—in both supply and demand—is seeing a downward shift in activity towards the lower price ranges, likely a result of the increasing market share of foreclosures and short sales. Compared to this time last year, the supply of homes under $150,000 is up 87.2 percent and home sales in that price range are up 49.8 percent. There is far less happening in the middle and upper price brackets.

A much smaller share of condominiums are foreclosures or short sales than the townhouse and single-family detached markets. It's not a coincidence then that the average sales price and price per square foot of condos is actually holding relatively steady and not seeing dramatic overall value declines.

New construction inventory is still down significantly—21.7 percent behind this time last year, to be exact. The months supply of new construction inventory is only up 2.8 percent in the last year to 11.4 months, compared to a 24.0 percent increase for the previously owned market.

Contact MAAR Research Manager, Jeff Allen, at jeffa@mplsrealtor.com or 952.988.3126 if you have questions or comments about this research tool.

TOP

MINT Conference, June 19–21, 2008, in Cancun, Mexico

Learn more about the Mexican real estate market and real estate developments at the MINT Conference, June 19–21, 2008, in Cancun, Mexico. The MINT Conference, sponsored by AMPI (Mexican real estate association), features a 4-hour NAR coursnference registration is $350.00 (plus VAT), special hotel rates and airline discounts are available.

For registration, hotel and airline discounts visit this website.

Source: NAR International

TOP

Free Marketing & Technology Workshop for REALTORS®

Learn why agents across America are calling this the best real estate seminar they've attended.

Max will condense 3 days worth of high-impact real estate marketing knowledge into one of the most valuable three hours of your career – for free.

Source: STCAR, realtor.com

TOP

REALTOR® Magazine Seeks Good Neighbor Nominations

Five winners will receive $10,000 grants and national publicity
REALTOR® Magazine, the official publication of NAR, is seeking help in identifying nominees for the 2008 Good Neighbor Awards. The program—now in its ninth year—recognizes REALTORS® whose extraordinary commitment to community service has helped make their communities better places to live. Deadline for entry is this Friday, May 23, 2008.

In November, five winners will be announced in REALTOR® Magazine and will be recognized at the 2008 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando. Five winners will receive a $10,000 grant for their community cause, travel expenses to the convention and extensive publicity to benefit their cause. In addition to the winners, five honorable mentions will receive $2,500 grants.

Eligible activities include any volunteer work that helps improve the quality of life in a community. Entry form, rules, judging criteria, and profiles of past winners are available here.

Frequently Asked Questions | Entry Form

Source: National Association of REALTORS®

TOP

Advertisement

TOP