Louise Speck

There has been plenty of Plymouth real estate for sale during the 2^nd quarter of this year although the number of new listings is down from the same time a year ago and the average days on the market is up over 11% longer than the same time 1 year ago.

There are currently 275 active listings of single family Plymouth homes for sale ranging in price from $129,000 to $1,785.000 and 220 Plymouth Townhome/Condos for sale ranging in price from $55,402 to $629,900. During the last quarter there were 117 Plymouth single family homes for sale that closed ranging in price from $149,900 - $1,150,000 and there were at the end of the quarter, 62 pending sales where the list prices ranged from $139,900 to $985,000.

Under $200,000 - 92 Active Listings, 27 Pending Listings, 45 Sold Listings - Both Townhomes and Single Family Homes - AVG 155.93 CDOM

$200,000 - $300,000 - 127 Active Listings, 31 Pending Listings, 50 Sold Listings - Both Townhome and Single Family Homes - AVG 106.8 CDOM

$300,000 - $500,000 - 144 Active Listings, 27 Pending Listings, 54 Sold Listings - Both Townhomes and Single Family Homes - AVG 124.7 CDOM

$500,000 and Up - 98 Active Listings, 15 Pending Listings, 25 Sold Listings - AVG186.68 CDOM

There are 21 Plymouth homes for sale that are lake properties. 7 on Medicine Lk, 3 on Bass Lk, 3 on Gleason Lk, 2 on Mooney Lk, 1 on Parkers Lk and 1 each on 5 smaller lakes.

All my Statistical information is based on information from the REGIONAL MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE of MINNESOTA, INC. for the period of 4/1/09 through 6/30/09 and may by interpretation not be exact.

This is Minnesota, the "Land of 10,000 + Lakes"! Beautiful scenery - the Fall colors are right there at the top when you compare states. The Winter is crisp and fresh with beautiful snowfalls that blanket the ground and trees in a cloak of white and some mornings the trees and bushes glitter and shimmer in the morning sun. Springtime with the crabapple blossems compares favorably with the dogwood of the south and cherry blossoms in our nations capital. Certainly more beautiful than a lot of places I can think of. Summer is, well, summer. Some days are perfect and others are either too hot or too cold depending on where you came from originally. Me, I came from Arkansas.

My home town of Plymouth, Minnesota is the #1 place to live according to Money magazine list of 10 best places to live in the "whole" country. Then WHY doesn't Minnesota have more than one company,Mayo, in the top "100 Best Companies to Work For" according to Moody as published in Forbes.

Thankfully Minneapolis/St Paul is not among the 25 Weakest Housing Markets in the U.S but neither are we among the 25 Strongest Housing Markets. Why, even in my home state of Arkansas there is a city over 500,000 that is Number 9 under Strongest Markets and with the prediction that home sale prices will only change 1.7% to the bottom.

We are "Minnesota Nice", we are the stable "Mid West", we are well educated, we spend a lot of money on our education system, we have wonderful parks and ammenities for people to enjoy, we are a great place for people from other parts of the country to move. At least that is what I've been told. Why?

What do you think? Why aren't we at the top in all the polls and lists? Why aren't we one of the top 25 strongest Real Estate Markets? Why don't we have several companies headquartered in Minnesota that are among the Top 100 or even the Top 10 Companies to Work For in the United States?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Look outside your window's in Plymouth, Minnesota today and you will likely see snowflakes gently falling, coating the frozen, already snow covered landscape with a fresh, clean blanket. While I am enjoying the lovely scene of the new falling snow I'm going to take a look at what you will see if you look at the Real Estate Statistics in our NorthWest Minneapolis Communities.

The good news is that the supply of homes is down quite a bit from one year ago. For the week ending December 27th, new listings were down 3.2 % and pending sales were up a fantastic 8.9 % over the same statistic one year ago. Of course the listings will pick up now that we are in the New Year and approaching Spring but with Interest Rates at historical lows w/a possibility of dropping even more the sales should continue to be good. This is a GREAT time to Buy if you are qualified!

A friend yesterday told me he must be way upside down in his home (he moved here in 2005) because he had heard prices were down over 13%. He lives in Maple Grove so looking at the latest Minneapolis Area Association statistics I see that year to date (YTD) the prices in Maple Grove are down only 2.9%. Certainly good news for him.

What about the same person in Plymouth? Plymouth is the #1 city to live in according to the 2008 Money magazine list of Best Places to Live. The same Minneapolis Association statistics indicate that the average sale price in Plymouth YTD is down 3.6%. Very close and certainly better than another nearby suburban community in the metropolitan area that was down YTD 19.6 %.

The point is that the statistics you hear in the media or find on Zillow may not be indicative of what is happening in your area or neighborhood. How many foreclosures are within a few blocks of where you live? What is the age and condition of the homes around you? How many rentals are in you neighborhood and are they well cared for? There are certainly a number of variables that enter the equation. Don't let the headlines depress you, find out what's happening around you from dependable sources in your area.

Click here to see the latest Market Activity Report for our Minneapolis/St Paul 7 County area.

Did you wake up early the day after Christmas and head for the department stores to grab all the after Christmas bargains? I did. I went to the Mall of America. Would you believe! The traffic was backed up what seemed to be at least 5 or 6 blocks. It boggled my mind to think about all those people waiting in line to take advantage of all the year end bargains? I couldn't help making the comparison between this shopping frenzy and real estate. Did you realize we are in the middle of one of the best home shopping markets in very many years - yet I don't see the people lining up like that to take advantage of the "Deals".

The New York Times back in early December published an article that many of you may have seen. It started off with the most profound statement:

"Five or 10 years from now, when the financial crisis has ended and housing prices are up smartly once more, we will look in the rear view mirror and realize that we missed a golden age for first-time home buyers."

That article was written by Ron Lieber and you can still read it at NYTimes.com money section.

Guess What!

This may be the best time to buy Real Estate since the mid 60's!!! How can you beat this... Interest rates are at historic levels, housing pricing is extremely desirable, the supply of homes is plentiful, and the average homeowner's net worth is quite a bit greater than the net worth of the average renter. Why would you want to rent when you could own?

Call us if you're thinking of buying in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area and want someone who can guide you through the process...it would be a priviledge to help you through to the close of your purchase. Cotact me at: louise@TwinOaksRealty.com or through my website at: LouiseSpeck.com or by calling me at: 612-867-4510.