Secrets of the City

I wonder how many people are listing their house because they have nothing to lose. They list and see if they can get a high price, a huge return. But if they don’t sell, they don’t care.

I’ve been casually looking at houses — and there’s a lot of crap on the market. In our neighborhood, nice houses, priced right, seem to sell fairly quickly.

i’ve been aggressively looking at houses…it’s like some sellers don’t even try to sell the house.

for instance, i’m interested in a house that was listed at $350K last year, $300K earlier this year, now it’s listed at $275K. great deal, right? maybe, but i can’t get the image of a clogged toilet that had been sitting there for what seemed to be days. it’s probably a 2 second fix with a plunger, yet that’s all i think of when i picture the house. ugh.

I’ve seen the same casual attitude among some sellers in my circles. The motivated sellers set a better price and the sale happens more quickly.

From what I’ve read, this is a return to normal in real estate.

seems like, other than the slight recent rate spike, it’s a pretty good time to be a renter searching for a starter home.

The shifting housing market has made this starter home owner who will soon need to sell and upgrade very nervous. Will I be able to make enough on my sale to upgrade and stay in Minneapolis?

yeah, it’s a GREAT time. especially for a first-timer…lots of programs out there that offer assistance, even if you make decent money.

I have the starterest of starter homes…425 SF with a full unfinished basement in a very nice area of NE. I can’t imagine ever being able to afford moving to something bigger in a decent area. Well that and I only have 11 more years and its paid off.

I’m considering (and by considering I mean dreaming) about putting a prefab home perpendicular to my current house bwteen the house and garage and just joining it to my current house. That could add like 600 SF on one level and I could stay in the same location.

Every street in my neighborhood has at least two or three homes for sale. Seems to be a lot of existing housing stock out there while development on new properties — especially townhomes, condos, lofts and other hi-dense developments is going unchecked

reader, keep your home in good shape and list it at a fair price, and you’ll be fine.

While the return on the sale of your home might fall short of your expectations you will likely more than make up for it on the other end when you go to buy – you’ll get more home for less.

This has been the best buying opportunity in the past 5 years…go for it jdrusha!

Have a wondeful weekend all…I am going up to Bluesfest in Duluth!

I’m sure I will come back in a much sunnier mood.

Did Raindog just post sans-venom? I think maybe somebody got laid last night…other than Marsh, that is.

Don’t harsh Raindog’s mellow!

Have fun in Duluth, Raindog! I believe most great blue artists intended to put people in a good mood. It’s the same reason we report on house fires on the news: it makes people at home feel good that their house didn’t burn down.

That’s feeling of “thank g-d it’s not me” is aka Schadenfreude

I bought my house a bit over a year ago, (s minneapolis) and have made a fair amount of improvements to it.
I also fear the fact that I may not be able to make enough upon sale for an upgarde.
The house was a mess and really under-maintained when I bought it..I have remodeled the kitchen and painted the exterior, landscaped, etc. But I still wonder if I will make enough.

It is in a nice area near cedar and 42nd, and the neighborhood is improving, or was before the recent crime spree plaguing the city;)

I underbid the seller by 10,000 and stll wonder if it will work out.
anyone else nervous like me?

off topic: Jderusha, wcco.com is crashtastic. I just submitted a complaint. Anyone else notice this about wcco.com? Works fine in firefox but IE is a nightmare!

I like 42nd and Cedar.

What’s the site doing? You can e-mail me directly if you want.

Ooh.. just loaded it in IE. It is suck-tastic there. It took about 5 minutes for my Explorer to load up: I either use firefox or safari at home.

load it up in IE and just try navigating around the links.
It should just crash to desktop or give you the standard microsoft “send error report..”

Argh, yeah. I just put my house on the market — I’m moving in AUGUST — and not a bite. Not a bite. Its a really tough, tough, insanely tough time. Lotsa potential buyers — what are they waiting for??

Want it? Its a 3+ bedroom in soon-to-be-fashionable Robbinsdale, not ten minutes to downtown. I put in tons of landscaping and a fountain, and the inside is all recently remodeled, including the basement, which is huge now and really quite lovely. 204K.

(sigh)

Working fine for me using IE6.

robbinsdale…north mpls’ friendly neighbor.

jonny…it is August already.

I’m not sure Robbinsdale is soon-to-be fashionable. You are close to North Memorial thou and they have an awesome trama unit for GSW’s.

I look at houses all the time, I’m jut not interested in buying any of them. But I mean, they’re there, so it’s hard not to see them.

That’s feeling of “thank g-d it’s not me” is aka Schadenfreude

BZZT, wrong! Schadenfreude is actively enjoying the suffering of others, not just being relieved that something didn’t happen to you.

>>> jonny…it is August already.

Well, we’re moving in LATE August, perhaps unsurprisingly.

>>> I’m not sure Robbinsdale is soon-to-be fashionable.

Sure it will. We’re getting a light rail route (well, in ten years), and a ton of renovation of our city’s center. Trust me: future St. Louis Park.

>>> You are close to North Memorial thou and they have an awesome trama unit for GSW’s.

Yeah, I can get alcohol poisoning and just stumble down the street.

They need to get the Terrace open again!
That would make Robbinsdale cool again.
If you want o sell that house you need to pimp Robbinsdale more!
What about Hackemuellers Meats? That place is awesome.
I love that theater.
I saw Flash Gordon and Ferris Beuller Day Off there!

Cool things about Robbinsdale:
Broadway Pizza
Cheap Guinness @ the Eagle’s Nest
Houses on Victory Parkway
My kids were born there
Excellent Little League Baseball program
Proximity to Downtown MPLS
Affordable, reasonably well maintained housing stock
St. Petersbug

Not Cool Things About Robbinsdale:
Dude, it’s Robbinsdale

Well at least its not Crystal.

As suburbs go, you could do worse than Robbinsdale.

“You could do worse than Robbinsdale.”

Foster, quick, cross-link that to the T-shirt post.

I think that you’ve got a winner.

I grew up in Robbinsdale and I loved it. Lots of parks. Good Little League program.

What about the schools, Matt?

this is a dumb question, but is the st. petersburg bar open to the public, or is it a private club? i lived a few blocks from it for a year and never ventured in.

“You could do worse than Robbinsdale.”

I think that you’ve got a winner.

Front: You could do worse than Robbinsdale.
Back: At least it’s not Crystal.

Perfect.

Isn’t this where one of the real estate bloggers or one of the 100 real estate leeches/agents that lurk here are supposed to step up and give us a nice comfort post about how this is definitely not a bubble market?

Not2Sure! Dude, it’s good to see a familiar alias on MNSpeak. As much as I love the usual suspects — Jason, Max, Amber, Matt, Raindoggy et al, it is good to see you checking in again.

Been on the St. Cloud Times chat lately? I got the Westover treatment from one of his buddies at SCSU on E85 and the Alaska Disasta, but I miss my old gang of online friends.

Not2Sure! Dude, it’s good to see a familiar alias on MNSpeak. As much as I love the usual suspects — Jason, Max, Amber, Matt, Raindoggy et al, it is good to see you checking in again.

Been on the St. Cloud Times chat lately? I got the Westover treatment from one of his buddies at SCSU on E85 and the Alaska Disasta, but I miss my old gang of online friends.

MNSpeak T-shirt cross-link: “In the suburbs, no one can hear you scream.”

FYI: There is a Sci-Fi Film Festival in St. Paul next weekend (Mounds Theater?). Mostly old classics– War of the Worlds (original), Metropolis (Fritz Lang, silent), The most current film showing is the modern classic “Alien.”

MNSpeak T-shirt cross-link: “In the suburbs, no one can hear you scream.”

FYI: There is a Sci-Fi Film Festival in St. Paul next weekend (Mounds Theater?). Mostly old classics– War of the Worlds (original), Metropolis (Fritz Lang, silent), The most current film showing is the modern classic “Alien.”

Just because you can’t put a sign in your yard and sit back and collect multiple offers does not mean that it’s a bad market. People have to learn that they cannot count on double digit appreciation anymore. Back in the day they used to say that you’d have to keep your house for two years just to break even on closing costs. A well priced home in a desirable neighborhood will absolutely sell. As someone else mentioned – it’s a great time to buy, and even if you’re selling too, you might take a hit, but hopefully you can make it up on the buy.

And it’s nice to see Bob double-commenting again.

Didn’t the Southwest Journal sell “no one can hear you scream” t-shirts like 5-years ago?

Bill’s Gun Store is in Robbinsdale!

I agree with a previous poster. There is so much inventory right now but it’s a lot of sellers that aren’t really selling. They hear that the prices are coming down & think if they can get a good price they’ll go ahead & sell. The sellers who really need to sell, have a good house at a good price do sell. And there ARE buyers out there. They are taking longer to make a decision but they are here. And now is a great time to buy, especially a house you plan to live in. If you are interested in our area, Cape Coral & Fort Myers, check us out.

Agust numbers by St. Paul neighborhood. http://www.stpaulrealestateblog.com/st_paul_real_estate/2006/09/stats_by_st_pau.html