Month: August 2016

 

 

 

 

If you’ve ever tried to take a stroll along the Mississippi riverfront in North Minneapolis, you’ve likely noticed that this task is easier said than done. The city wants to change that and redevelop the northern riverfront  into a much more people-friendly environment. Currently, the northside riverfront is comprised overwhelmingly of industrial land uses (Cemstone, GAF, Northern Metal, et al). Strategically located high quality jobs are key to success in today’s economy, but there are clearly some improvements that can be done to raise the bar in terms of walkability, inviting a more diverse mix of land uses and placemaking.

Spanning from N. Lowry to Dowling and from Dupont to the river, the McKinley neighborhood is at the core of the North Minneapolis Riverfront. McKinley has a lot to offer, including an affordable and attractive housing stock, access to regional transportation networks and proximity to downtown.

The median home price in the McKinley Neighborhood is $103,500, compared to $127,000 in the broader Camden Community. However, prices in McKinley rose almost 32.0 percent from the same period last year while Camden prices rose a more modest but still admirable 11.4 percent.

Compared to the City of Minneapolis as a whole and the Twin Cities metro as a whole, McKinley has a healthier balance between buyer and seller activity—with 3.6 months of supply compared to 2.2 and 2.9 in the city and metro, respectively.

In light of that, it isn’t surprising that days on market is slightly higher in the neighborhood than the other two geographies. McKinley homes tend to go under contract after 58 days on the market compared to 28 and 35 for the city and metro, respectively.

However, if you just look at traditional properties priced roughly between $130,000 and $190,000, the days on market figures are much tighter across the three geographies based on the latest figures.

On average, McKinley sees fewer showings per listing than Minneapolis (5.6 versus 8.3), but is more or less on par with the metro (5.6 versus 6.1). This suggests there is about as much buyer interest in McKinley homes as there are in homes across the metro, but slightly less than the City of Minneapolis as a whole.

With apps popping up around every corner, it can be overwhelming to decide which ones you should use. We talked with tech savvy real estate agent, Brandon Doyle and asked him what he’s using for his business and here is what he shared:

1. Card Reader – No more boring manual input of the names, phone numbers, emails and other information from business cards. Out-of-the-box integration with LinkedIn, Salesforce and Evernote. Easy integration with other CRM systems.

2. Homesnap – Find your next home with our all-new home search interface. Homesnap is powered by the same real-time data used by licensed REALTORS®.

3. Waze – Waze is the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app. Join other drivers in your area who share real-time traffic and road info, saving everyone time and gas money on their daily commute.

4. NorthstarMLS – Complete with integration with your NorthstarMLS Matrix account and ShowingTime, search for active and off-market properties.

5. Dropbox – Dropbox works the way you get to all your files from anywhere, on any device, and share them with anyone.

Brandon Doyle, Doyle Real Estate Team with RE/MAX Results REALTOR®. Brandon has a Bachelor’s of Science in Real Estate from St. Cloud State University and is pursuing his Masters of Science in Real Estate at the University of St. Thomas. @DoyleRealtor

Seller activity declined 5.5 percent since last July, as sellers introduced 7,522 new listings to the marketplace. Sales activity was slightly below year-ago levels. Closed sales fell 5.8 percent while pending sales—the number of signed purchase agreements—fell 3.1 percent. Buyers signed 5,560 new contracts and closed on 6,030 homes. That closed sales figure is on par with July 2003 levels. The July median sales price retreated slightly since June 2016, but increased 6.6 percent from July 2015 to $239,900. Mostly due to inventory constraints, prospective sellers are concerned about their ability to secure their next property in the current environment. Buyers saw little supply side relief, as inventory levels fell 18.1 percent to 14,457 active properties. The well-known inventory shortages haven’t slowed down buyers much, given June 2016 closed sales at a 12-year high.

 

Low inventory, however, has helped draw out stronger offers. The average percent of original list price received at sale was 98.4 percent, the highest figure for any July since 2005. Low levels of for-sale housing also means the homes on the market tend to sell quickly. Cumulative days on market until sale fell 15.9 percent to 53 days. That’s the fastest market time for any month since the beginning of 2007. Months supply of inventory fell 23.7 percent to 2.9 months—the lowest July figure on record going back to the beginning of 2003. Generally, five to six months of supply is considered a balanced market.

 

 

“Our days on market indicator tells us that most homes are selling pretty quickly,” said Judy Shields, Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® (MAAR) President. “But that market-wide figure leaves out important differences between various communities, property types and price points. For example, the July market-wide average was 53 days but homes priced above $1 million are spending 174 days on the market.”

Over the last 12 months, properties in the $190,000 to $250,000 range have tended to sell the quickest, at an average of 54 days. As the price point rises, so does the amount of time spent on the market. There is a sweet spot whereby both lower and higher priced homes take longer to sell.

It’s also worth noting that the average market time figure can be skewed by properties that linger on the market. The median days on market was actually 25 for July, reflecting the mid-point where half the homes spent longer than 25 days on the market and half spent less.

“Those selling properties above the $500,000 mark know that patience is a virtue even in our current environment,” said Cotty Lowry, MAAR President-Elect. “The supply-demand balance in that segment is less competitive than the entry-level price points, plus consumers are limiting how much house they buy.”