Posts by Guest Writer
Supply tight but flattening, prices still rising, sales fluctuating
By David Arbit on Friday, November 16th, 2018 As sentiments regarding the direction of housing markets have changed, it’s worth remembering two key facts. First, all housing is local—what’s happening in San Francisco, Seattle and Denver is not reflective of the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. Second, the housing market faces fewer risks than in the mid-2000s.…
Read MoreHot Home Trend: Color Block Your Kitchen Cabinets
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine Getting a little mismatchy in kitchen cabinet color designs is no longer being viewed as an unfinished reno job, but instead perfectly stylish in fitting with today’s trends. These “tuxedo kitchens,” as they’re nicknamed, are where the upper cabinets may be in one color—like in all white—and then the…
Read MoreWhere Did All the Homes Go? A Historic Shortage, and Cities It’s Hitting Hardest
Of all the hyperbolic new benchmarks of the American housing market (Highest-ever national home prices! Fewest-ever days on market! Most expensive teardown shack in history!), there’s one key metric that seems to get the least number of blaring headlines: inventory levels. But maybe that should change. The fact is, the number of properties available for…
Read MoreGung-Ho Sellers Post Largest Increase in Nearly Three Years
By David Arbit on Wednesday, September 19th, 2018 More sellers are feeling optimistic about listing their homes just as humidity, cabin weekends and food-on-a-stick give way to rakes, school buses and sweater vests. Compared to last August, Twin Cities sellers listed 7.6 percent more homes on the market. That was the largest increase since late-2015.…
Read MoreFind Out the New, Hot Home Color for 2019
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR(R) Magazine Photo credit: Behr The paint company Behr has named a rich, bluish hue its 2019 Color of the Year. Blueprint is a mid-tone blue that is described as warmer than denim but softer than navy. Behr is predicting that embracing a full range of blue, teal,and gray will be…
Read MoreHow to Understand Home Staging Pricing and Proposals: Do’s and Don’ts
By Audra Slinkey, Home Staging Resource A lot of real estate agents are looking for a good, reliable home stager that can magically transform their listings into the price point their seller is hoping to achieve. The trouble and confusion sometimes comes when the real estate professional asks a few home stagers to “bid” or…
Read MoreBefore and After Photos: How Staging Can Make a Big Difference
By Patti Stern, PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating What is the key to staging a home in appealing to a broad demographic? Presenting a property’s main rooms so buyers can see its true potential beyond what they read in the listing. A room showcased in a way that features the best use of…
Read MoreMaps, Maps and More Maps
By David Arbit on Friday, August 17th, 2018 Here at MAAR, we’re always coming up with new ways to convey information to our members, the media and the public. In our research department, we’ve been working on creating a series of maps that help us visualize and better understand our regional housing market. For too…
Read MoreSales Flatten while Sellers Capitalize on Price Gains
By David Arbit on Thursday, August 16th, 2018 New listings increased this July compared to last year, which could hint at a flurry of sellers looking to take advantage of this strong market. July marked the second increase in seller activity since November 2017. Meanwhile, buyer activity flattened out after seven months of year-over-year declines.…
Read MoreSellers: flat. Buyers: down. Prices: up.
By David Arbit on Wednesday, July 18th, 2018 Seller activity was relatively flat in June while buyers pulled back somewhat. For the first time since 2010, new listings surpassed 9,000 in May of this year. That’s encouraging, even though June seller activity was down slightly compared to last year. Increasing or steady seller activity combined…
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