Weekly Market Activity Report

We trust that you had a good May Day, International Worker's Day or early Cinco de Mayo celebration. Whatever your cause for celebration, the Twin Cities housing market did not take a holiday. During the week ending April 25, pending sales posted their fourth consecutive week of more than 1,000 sales, a feat not accomplished since 2006. The 1,078 sales represent a 34.1 percent increase over the same week last year.

Supply remains a different story. New listings were hitting the market at a robust pace last spring, but activity has been comparatively tepid this year. New listings are 16.4 percent behind one year ago and the overall supply of homes for sale trails last year by 19.0 percent. We have remained near 26,000 homes for sale for most of this year, betraying the healthy seasonal growth we typically see this time of year.

Yes, supply is down, but there's still plenty of inventory out there. April's showers are behind us, the Housing Affordability Index is stratospherically healthy, low mortgage rates persist, and a first-time buyer tax credit remains in effect. At this clip, your buyers could certainly find May flowers blooming in front of their newly purchased homes.

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

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Member Appreciation Week is Next Week: May 4 – 8

• FREE grilled lunch – Wed and Thurs, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the MAAR parking lot
• FREE make your own ice cream sundae – Fri, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the MAAR office
• FREE CE all week! Complete the Member Appreciation Week form here!

Are you a REALTOR® who reads? If not, then stop here. If you do read, then check this out: ALL members will be eligible for two daily prize drawings during Member Appreciation Week even if you don't take advantage of our free classes and foodstuffs. If you happen to come by the office next week, you'll have more opportunities to win. There will be six drawings per day—two for ALL members and four for Member Appreciation Week participants.

\IMPORTANT: A unique Membership Appreciation Week registration form (click here) needs to be completed in order to attend the special classes available from May 4 to May 8. This event is open to MAAR members only. Class seating is limited but many FREE credit-approved CE classes are still available! On the registration form, you are asked to select a first choice followed by two alternate choices.

CLASS DETAILS | REGISTRATION FORM (required!)

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Referral Expo 2009

Effective Referral Strategies
In tough economic times, getting quality referrals is more important than ever. Because MAAR wants you to succeed in your business, we’ve arranged for all members to attend the 2009 Referral Expo at no cost! Space is limited! | REGISTER NOW

Referral Expo 2009 is a "virtual expo" conducted over the phone. It includes a stellar line-up of authors, successful business people and consultants that will give our members tools and ideas on how to build and grow their business through referrals. Ten incredible referral experts have agreed to donate their time and expertise to help MAAR members flourish during these challenging times. MAAR is a co-sponsor this event, and MAAR member Nobu Hata will be one of the ten speakers.

Dates: May 18–29
Time: one-hour presentation each day
Cost: FREE

Source: nsight Marketing

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Next WCR Event: Wednesday, May 20

Immigration in Minnesota:
What Does It Mean for Real Estate?
Four states currently have a "no majority race" population and five more are expected to reach that status in less than five years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the buying power of all ethnic groups will increase between now and 2030 with the exception of the caucasian group. In some cases, this buying power will more than triple in the next 20 years.

What does all this mean for Minnesota? What about real estate? Join us for this informative session featuring Laura Danielson, a well-known immigration attorney with Fredrikson & Byron in Minneapolis.

Date and Time: Wednesday, May 20; 11:30 a.m. (lunch), noon (program)
Location: Park Plaza Hotel, 4460 West 78th St Circle, Bloomington, MN 55435
Cost: $20 (members of WCR or Ignite!); $25 (nonmember)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Plus: NAR & WCR Midyear Meeting Update

Sponsored by Ignite! The Multicultural Network of Real Estate Professionals (part of MAAR)

Source: Women's Council of REALTORS®

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REALTOR® Safety

As the spring market brings out potential buyers, it also brings out potential criminal offenders.

• Know your buyer. Your first meeting with the buyer should be at your company's office.
• Never meet an unknown buyer at a vacant home.
• Give someone you trust an agenda of your day's schedule and who you are going to be working with.
• Remind sellers to put away valuables, including prescriptions, bills, bank statements and electronics.
• Be aware of people coming into open houses as a group. They may be working as a team; one distracts you while the other lifts items from the home.

We had a recent report of a group of people entering an open house where two people kept the REALTOR® busy while another stole the seller's laptop and put it in a baby carrier of all things.

Your personal safety is more important than personal items, so never try to stop a criminal in the act or go after them. If you see suspicious behavior, leave the house and call 911.

Visit our online Safety Kit for more safety tips.

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Public Affairs

NAR Midyear Legislative Meetings to Focus
on Efforts to Stabilize Housing Markets
On May 11, 2009, REALTORS® from across the nation will begin arriving in Washington, DC for the National Association of REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo. As REALTORS® meet with Members of Congress and United States Senators they will bring the message "A Housing Recovery Unlocks the Economy." These are a few noted causes for 2009:

Restructure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: The federal government must have a continued key role to ensure capital for mortgage lending throughout all mortgage markets and in all market conditions.

"Unlimit" FHA & GSE Loan Limits: Congress should make permanent the 2008 loan limit formula and loan limit cap.

Expand the Tax Credit: Congress should expand the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit to include all home buyers at all income levels.

Preserve the Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID): NAR opposes any changes to current law. The MID is a remarkably effective tool that facilitates homeownership and community stability. More than 75% of homeowners utilize the deduction over the period they own their home.

Enact Health Care Coverage for the Self-Employed and Small Businesses: NAR urges Congress to pass health care reform legislation that addresses the inequities faced by the self-employed and small businesses in the nation's health insurance delivery system.

Adopt Reasonable Approaches to Energy Efficiency: NAR supports commercially reasonable, incentive-based approaches to help our nation's commercial and residential buildings become more energy efficient. NAR strongly opposes energy labeling requirements which are imposed at time of sale or impose undue economic burdens on property owners or managers.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE ABOUT NAR LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY ADVOCACY

Robbinsdale Point-of-Sale Ordinance
The new Robbinsdale Point-of-Sale Inspection Program took effect on May 1. The ordinance says that any property shown on or after May 1, 2009 must have a completed point-of-sale inspection report available for viewing on the property. Single family, twin homes, townhouses and condominiums are included. Information about the ordinance is published on the city's website. MAAR's website will be updated this week. | MORE INFO

Questions about the new ordinance should be directed to Rick Pearson at 763.531.1266.

Penalty Up for St. Paul Code Violations
Recently the City of Saint Paul's Truth-in-Sale of Housing (TISH) board of examiners voted to increase the cost for non-compliance to its disclosure ordinance. Now any real estate agent in violation of Chapter 189.03 of the city code will be fined $500. First-time violators who pay the penalty and agree to future compliance can avoid having this conviction remain on their permanent record. According to the ordinance:

"Any owner or agent of an owner who sells or makes available for sale a dwelling by implementing any of the following actions, including, but not limited to, advertising the sale of the dwelling, entering into a listing agreement to sell the dwelling or posting a sign that the dwelling is for sale, or any action where the logical result of that action will be the sale or change of ownership of the property, shall, within three (3) calendar days of any such action, have an evaluation completed by an evaluator licensed under this chapter."

Source: Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS®, City of Saint Paul

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Education and Professional Development

Newest Added Class—Home Buyer Seminars!
May 14, 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Our first Home Buyer Seminar class sold out. We are offering it again for those who were unable to attend the first class. Sign up early as seating is limited! Always check our website for the latest information on classes. This class meets your one-hour Agency requirement!

Membership Appreciation Week classes (May 4–8) are for active MAAR members only. You MUST use this registration form and email or fax it to Amy Ransom at amyr@mplsrealtor.com or 952.908.2621.

May 11, 9 a.m.–4 p.m., RSA Senior Housing Tour – SOLD OUT!
May 13, 9 a.m.–noon, Communicating with Style – SOLD OUT!
May 13, 1 p.m.–4 p.m., Identifying and Avoiding Fraud – limited seating
May 14, 9 a.m.–noon, eEssentials 2 – one seat left!
May 14, 1 p.m.–4 p.m., Home Buyer Seminars
May 18, 6 p.m.–9 p.m., Wake Up, Shift Happens (at the Minnetonka Community Center)
May 19, 9 a.m.–noon, Essentials 4: Communication, the Client, & the RE Transaction – limited seating
May 19, 1 p.m.–4 p.m., Essentials 6: Sustaining a Consumer-Focused RE Business – limited seating
May 20, 9 a.m.–noon, The Online RE Consumer – limited seating
May 20, 9 a.m.–noon, Matrix – SOLD OUT!
May 20, 1 p.m.–4 p.m., Purchase Agreements that Pack a Punch – SOLD OUT!
May 21, 9 a.m.–noon, eEssentials 3: Word 2003 – limited seating

CE From the Convenience of Home—New Discount for Online Courses!
Earn continuing education credits in the comfort of your own home at hours convenient to you. Work on your continuing education anywhere with an Internet connection. All of our Hondros Learning online courses are approved for Minnesota CE credit.

Register now and take $5.00 off each individual course or $10.00 off a package. Simply use one of the discount codes listed below during checkout. Hurry! These offers expire on May 31, 2009.

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News from NorthstarMLS

You Can Now Leave Matrix Idle for 2 Hours
Maybe you noticed that you can step away from your Matrix session for longer periods of time without automatically being sent back to the login screen and losing your work. As a result of SafeMLS reducing the load on NorthstarMLS systems by preventing unauthorized access, the maximum idle time has been increased from 45 minutes to 2 hours. Frustration minimized. At least that's the desired effect.

Also remember that Matrix, Home Base and REsearch are all under Single Sign-On (SSO), another SafeMLS benefit, allowing you to move among them without logging into each one separately. Your SSO session lasts for 4 hours. So if you do get bumped out of Matrix after 2 hours of it sitting idle, click the Matrix icon on NorthstarMLS.com to get back onto Matrix without having to re-enter your login information (if your 4 hour SSO period has not expired). If you have been idle for more than 2 hours on Matrix, whatever you were working on will be lost.

Fewer Fines and Better Data—No Problem!
NorthstarMLS runs 282 automated data quality checks against every new listing input into the system. In the first quarter of 2009, more than 34,300 listings were run through those checks. That's close to 9.7 million points of accuracy and compliance that were confirmed just for newly entered listings. Combined with checks on existing listings and call-in reports, about 12,000 were flagged for further review resulting in 4,800 total violations identified.

Of these, 85% were corrected without a fine being assessed (or the fine was waived because of first violation and/or having RMLS do education sessions at the agent's office).

The goal of NorthstarMLS is to educate all users on the importance of following the MLS rules. These rules contribute to a cooperative, fair and orderly marketplace. NorthstarMLS does not seek to penalize except for repeat violations or more serious violations (such as entering a listing into the MLS without a valid contract).

RMLS staff is available to give Rules & Regulations presentations at brokers' weekly staff meetings. If you are a broker and interested in this opportunity, contact them at 651.251.3210 to schedule an appointment.

Once again, the most commonly violated MLS rule (58%) is leaving a listing in Pending status more than 24 hours beyond the projected close date. The reason for this rule is to not only ensure accurate data but to make the Closed listing available for industry critical CMAs and market statistics. If the Projected Closing Date changes, please take a moment to edit that field in the MLS so that you do not get a notice. We appreciate everyone's efforts to keep listing status up to date.

Other common rules violations that we would like to see go down:

• Incorrect or incomplete listing data
• Contact information or 3rd party promotions in Public Remarks or Supplements
• Photo not uploaded to the listing within three days of input
• Listing entered late (more than three days past the contract effective date)

For more information on the MLS Rules & Regulations, go to NorthstarMLS.com and select "Rules & Regs" from the main menu. If you have any questions, call 651.251.3210.

New Fields Now Available: In Foreclosure, Lender Owned, Potential Short Sale
The In Foreclosure, Lender Owned and Potential Short Sale fields are now available on the Home Base add/edit system. All three fields are also available for adding to your search screens (by using the link "Click here to add or remove search fields" on any of the standard search screens).

Data entered into the Lender Owned or Potential Short Sale fields is now displaying on Matrix. The fields are on the Property Full Displays just above the Contact section where the current "In Foreclosure" field is. They will only display if there is data in the field. If not, they will be suppressed. The PDF Reports will also soon be adjusted to display the new fields.

Remember that whatever you had selected on your listings for the combined "In Foreclosure/Lender Owned" field will now be selected for the separate "In Foreclosure" field and the "Lender Owned" field. The "Potential Short Sale" field will be blank unless you edit the listing to make a selection.

If you have questions, contact the NorthstarMLS Help Desk at 651.251.5456 or mlshelp@northstarmls.com.

Source: NorthstarMLS

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NNNIP/CURA Symposium: Neighborhood Responses to the Foreclosure Crisis

This symposium, co-sponsored by the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP), will feature an overview of the foreclosure crisis with responses from members of the Twin Cities community. There will be speakers and workshop leaders from more than 10 different cities who will be sharing their expertise.

Speakers include local housing experts, along with national experts such as Ingrid Gould Ellen, Co-director of the Furman Center for Real Estate Development and Urban Policy, New York University; and Junious Williams, Chief Executive Officer at Urban Strategies Council, Oakland, California. Additionally, a panel discussion will focus on "Thinking Strategically About Foreclosure Response." | VIEW FULL AGENDA

Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (reception to follow)
Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Center, Univ. of Minnesota, West Bank Campus
Cost: $40 for Non-NNIP partners, Free for NNIP members

Afternoon workshops will include: "Outreach/Organizing for Prevention," "Managing Foreclosed Properties," "Acquisition of Foreclosed Properties," and "Land Banking."

FURTHER INFORMATION  |  REGISTRATION

Contact Sara Bielawski at biel0032@umn.edu or 612.625.9040 with any questions.

Source: National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) and University of Minnesota's Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA)

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e-PRO® – Next Workshop is Thursday, May 14

Attend the InternetCrusade® Technology Workshop featuring the e-PRO® Certification course, the only technology course offered and endorsed by NAR. You don't have to be a technology expert to attend this program. Get in tune with the wants and needs of today's Internet-empowered buyers and sellers. Start working smarter. Enroll at this FREE workshop and receive a $25 discount from the normal $359 fee and an 8-month enrollment (instead of 6 months) for this online course. Call 1.866.377.0627 (toll free) or click the link below to sign up today!

e-PRO® Workshop at MAAR's Office:
5750 Lincoln Drive, Edina, MN 55436
Thursday, May 14, 2009, 11:00 a.m. – noon
(with 30 minutes extra minutes for questions)

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Seeking Five Good Neighbors to Receive $10,000 Grants

REALTOR® Magazine is seeking nominations for the 10th annual Good Neighbor Awards. The program recognizes REALTORS® who have made an extraordinary commitment to community service. Five winners will be announced in November in REALTOR® Magazine and at the 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Diego.

The winners will receive a $10,000 grant for their community cause, national publicity, travel expenses to the convention and a crystal trophy.

Entries must be received by May 22, 2009.

Entry Forms, Rules, Criteria | FAQ

Source: REALTOR® Magazine, National Association of REALTORS®

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MAAR's Office Visits Series

Are you a broker who holds Tuesday morning office meetings with your agents? Leverage the specialized knowledge and experience of MAAR staff for your weekly events.

Want to talk about the local housing market? Dig into research tools? Talk about "todaying" your marketing? Maximize your strengths? Get some fish in your social net•work? Break borders? Brush up on REALTOR® safety? Take your green movement out of the vegetable garden? Straighten your knowledge curve on government affairs? We have a specialist for you.

To have one or several MAARtians come to your office or other company gathering, contact Chelsie Foty at chelsief@mplsrealtor.com or 952.988.3135.

Staff visits depend upon schedule and availability.

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