Friday, February 29, 2008

February 29, 2008

Interest Rates fell this week to 5.75% for a 30 year fixed on February 22, 2008. Lenders, quite frankly are not helping the market right now. There are a large number of qualified buyers out there. We have heard through the grapevine that one major lender is going to be buying down the rate slightly on home purchase loans. That is very good news.

There are several good signs about the real estate market here in Owatonna.

Current real estate listing inventory - 212 active listings in Owatonna as of today. The active listing count has remained stable the last few weeks. The fact that the active listing count has not climbed dramatically is a good thing for home sellers. As we have posted in the past, 175-180 lostings would be a fairly balanced market in Owatonna. We currently are still in a buyers market but not as severly as June-July 2007. There are still a wonderful deals out there for buyers to jump on. We are including links to two of those properties here.
455 Fairview,Owatonna $119,900 , 1340 Autumn Dr, Owatonna, MN

The number of pending listings remained stable at 26 houses. This is also a good sign as we continue to see the pending count stay stable and not fall.

There have been 29 properties Closed so far in 2008. We continue to see the closed listing count rise slowly. That is very good.

We are posting several new reports here starting today. They are comparison charts for the active, pending & sold listings. Please take a look and let us know what you think of these. Active Comparison Chart - Pending Comparison Chart - Closed Comparison Chart . We will continue to post new statistics and charts here.

Buyers are continuing to purchase homes and as we see interest rates creep down again we will see more buyers come off the fence and complete a purchase. Home sellers the questions to ask yourselves are these: Am I ready to sell now or am I just waiting for the market to turn? Are buyers finding the price attractive enough to write an Offer to Ourchase? If the answers to these questions are "NO" or "I'm not sure", then you aren't a true seller. Our current market is a very proactive market, we need to do things that will capture the attention of the buying public.

Please continue to give us feedback via comments here, by phone 507-390-2121 or email us, mailto:info@BartleyGroup.com

Monday, February 25, 2008

February 25, 2008

Interest Rates rose again today to 6.125% for a 30 year fixed on February 22, 2008. Lenders, quite frankly are not helping the market right now. There are a large number of qualified buyers out there. We have heard through the grapevine that one major lender is going to be buying down the rate slightly on purchases. That is very good news.

Current listing inventory - 211 active listings in Owatonna as of today. The active listing count has remained stable the last few weeks and that is a good sign because we have seen the pending count climb. Open houses on Saturday were awesome, all 3 members of our group hosted Open Houses and we had traffic through all of the houses. That is a great sign that things are picking up.

The number of pending listings remained at 26 houses. Again this is a good sign as we continue to see the pending count rise it means homes are receiving acceptable offers to purchase.

There have been 25 properties Closed so far in 2008. The under $200,000 market has been the strongest so far this year. Almost 80% of the homes sold so far in 2008 have fallen in this price range. Only 4 homes above $209,900 have closed in 2008.

Please continue to give us feedback via comments here, by phone 507-390-2121 or email us, mailto:info@BartleyGroup.com

Friday, February 22, 2008

February 22,2008

Interest Rates rose to 6.0% for a 30 year fixed on February 22, 2008. Lenders have not been willing to lower rates right now, but we did hear today that one major lender is going to be concentrating efforts on purchases rather that re-fis. That is very good news.

Current listing inventory - 210 active listings in Owatonna as of today. Showings have begun to pick up again and we are hoping for a good turnout at Open Houses tomorrow.
The number of pending listings remained rose slightly this week to 26 houses. Again this is a good sign as we continue to see the pending count rise it means homes are receiving acceptable off to purchase. There have been 24 properties Closed so far in 2008. The under $200,000 market has been the strongest so far this year. Almost 80% of the homes sold so far in 2008 have fallen in this price range. Only 3 homes above $209,900 have closed in 2008. If your home is on the market and you are just over that $200,000 price break (and I know there are a few of you out there, I've looked at the active listings), it might be a good idea to talk with your real estate professional about a new price

We are still working on some new format for the documents we post here as well as some additional statistics. Please continue to give us feedback via comments here, by phone 507-390-2121 or email us, mailto:info@BartleyGroup.com

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Truly Blessed! A Time of Reflection.

I was sitting at my desk this morning working on the computer when one of my partners (Todd) arrived at the office. Now mind you that my partners are Susan (my wife) and Todd (our son-in-law). Todd had in tow his son (our grandson) Thomas (almost 7) who had just been diagnosed with strep throat at the doctors office and couldn't go back to school or to day care. Thomas walked into our office, dropped his coat on Susan's desk, kicked off his boots next to my desk and crawled up on my lap. He proceeded to sit there while I reached around him on each side so I could still reach the keyboard. I answered a multitude of questions on what I was doing & why and explained why we couldn't go to Leggo.com right then. After sitting with me a while he hopped down and began to rummage in our office and desk drawers for things to make his 1st grade science project with. After unloading several drawers, there was a collection of items that he began to construct with.

All of this activity got me to thinking about how Truly Blessed I really am.

Every day I have the opportunity to work with the love of my life. While we may occasionally have a differing opinion on marketing strategy or open house schedules, we have an exceptional working relationship. I am allowed to spend the entire day with my wife, not just a few minutes in the morning in front of the mirror or in the evening after battling traffic and ugly road conditions. I am Truly Blessed.

We have an excellent working relationship with Todd (at least I think so, lol). He has brought a new enthusiam and energy to our team. Answering his questions make Susan & I take a hard look at look at what we are doing, and helps us keep on track and sometimes re-discover things we have done in the past that worked but we had forgotten about. We work with a family member that will do what it takes to get the job done and that we can trust to do it right.
We are Truly Blessed.

My daughter Jennifer worked part time this past summer with us and that was very special. Imagine, commuting to work with your wife and daughetr! Jennifer was a joy to have with us, she set up a complete profile for us on MYSPACE, http://www.myspace.com/bartleygroup , created a slide show of our listings, uploaded photos, delivered flyers, wrote property descriptions and all the time with a smile on her face. She helped get this Blog from a large text page to what we have now, worked with me on PodCasting (on which I've been lax since she went back to school), and even came back on semester break for several days to get us caught up on some things. I am Truly Blessed.

All 4 of our kids and both of our grandkids understand what we do and how that affects our lives. They understand that plans may change with a moments notice bucause of a last minute showing, dinner plans may be delayed because the funds didn't get wired in time for a late closing, or we may have to take phone calls at strange hours to accomodate out of state buyers. Thomas has been to more open houses in his young life than some real estate agents make it to in a carreer & hi sister Molly has been to her share as well. Katie, Stephen & Jennifer have helped host homes during parades and special promotions, they have all helped us to move trash, clean house, move in staging materials, deliver flyers, etc., etc., etc., all without complaint. We are Truly Blessed.

Real estate has been good to us over the years and we have had the opportunity to meet and work with a number of wonderful people. From past clients that have become close friends, to sub-contractors, to other real estate professionals. We have had the opportunity to be associated with truly remarkable individuals. We are Truly Blessed.

So even if the market is a little slower that we might like it to be, homes are still selling, they are just taking a little longer to sell. Even if the weather has been brutal this winter. Even with some of the aches & pains of getting older. I think of that young man crawling up on my lap this morning and smile an think. I am Truly Blessed.

Respectfully,
Brian Bartley
The Bartley Group

Monday, February 18, 2008

February 18, 2008

Interest Rates rose to 5.875% for a 30 year fixed on February 18, 2008. Mortgage rates have been somewhat strange over the last 20 days. They are up a bit right now.

Current listing inventory - 212 active listings in Owatonna as of today. We have seen quite a few showings through the month of January but showings have tepered off the last week. Right now buyers seem to be confused about interest rates and are just sitting back waiting for rates to come down and stabilize a bit. The FED has dropped the wholesale rate several times, however many lenders are keeping mortgage rates high trying to recoup some of their sub-prime losses. In addition many secondary investors are asking for a higher returns for the same reason.
The number of pending listings remained rose slightly to 23 houses. There were 22 properties Closed so far in 2008.

Please continue to give us feedback via comments here, by phone 507-390-2121 or email us, mailto:info@BartleyGroup.com

Monday, February 11, 2008

February 11, 2008

Interest Rates fell to 5.5% for a 30 year fixed on February 11, 2008. Mortgage rates have been somewhat strage over the last 14 days or so the took a big drop on the 22nd of January for about 3-4 hours and then bounced back up again. The continue to move around between 5.375% & 5.625% every couple of days.

Current listing inventory - 207 active listings in Owatonna as of today. As we speculated last week many of the expired listings came back on the market and brought the count back up. We are continuing to see strong market activity with the number of showing requests that have been scheduled. In addition our website set a record last month for the most number of visitors since we launched the site 6 years ago. Those are the positive signs that we are looking for.The number of pending listings remained stable at 19 houses. There were 22 properties Closed so far in 2008.

We would like to thank all of you who have e-mailed us or comments on our blog. We are working on bringing a different type of format to the documents that we post here. The new MLS system that we went to several weeks ago has much more capability for us to provide additional information, however we need to learn how to present that information to our visitors. This week we are using a different format and we will continue to experiment as we move ahead. Please continue to give us feedbackvia comments here, by phone 507-390-2121 or email us, mailto:info@BartleyGroup.com

Real Estate Professionalism - As We See It!!

This post is going to change direction slightly from the normal market conditions the we usually post here.

Several weeks ago members of the Southeast Minnesota Association of REALTORS (SEMAR)(of which Brian is on the Board of Directors) moved to a new Multiple Listing Service (MLS) software system. This move was long overdue and was a giant leap in technology. It has give some awesome capabilities to local REALTORS, however like any change it has presented its challenges as well. Many of you have read our previous posts and some have even commented or e-mailed us on the changes in the reports that we post here regularly. We continue to invest time and energy into learing this system so that we may provide our clients with the very best service available.

This MLS software system change has led to a number of members generating e-mails to each other, sometimes with system tips and sometimes with system complaints. One such recent e-mail got us all to thinking and talking and is what has prompted this post. A member was complaining that she was required to take a day off from her FULL TIME JOB to attend training on the new system, which was only offered during the day.

Now is where this post may offend some readers. In our group Real Estate is OUR FULL TIME JOB!!! That's the way it is. We don't pretend to be real estate professionals, we ARE real estate professionals. We eat, breathe & sleep real estate (just ask our family members). Real Estate is our one and only job.

When we select a doctor, dentist, attorney, accountant, auto mechanic, financial planner or carperter for our own personal use we look for someone that is a full time professional in their respective field. We look for those that are dedicated, trained and experienced. Questions that we ask ourselves when selecting a professional are: Is this person current in their profession? Do they work full time in their chosen field? Have they expanded their training beyond the required minimums? How much experience do they have? Frankly these are the same questions that consumers should be asking when they are in the process of selecting a Real Estate professional to assist them buying or selling a home. Do you really want a part time auto mechanic fixing the brakes on your car, or a part time carpenter building your new home, or a part time doctor delivering your new baby? Your home is most likely the most expensive investment you will ever make in your lifetime, so why trust it to sometime that is part time?

Members of our group are all full time Real Estate professionals. We have all attend training above and beyond what is required as a minimum by the state of Minnesota are are proud of it. All of those funny little initials that are after out names mean we have received additional education and have been awarded the respective designation for that training.

Susan has received the ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES and Broker Associate designations and is working on the e-PRO designation

Brian has received the GRI, SRES, Broker Associate designations and is working on the CRS & on the e-PRO designations.

Todd is working on the GRI designation.

We take our professionalism, experience & training very seriously.

What do those letters & designations mean?

The ABR: The Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR®) designation is the benchmark of excellence in buyer representation. This coveted designation is awarded to real estate practitioners by the Real Estate BUYER'S AGENT Council (REBAC) of the National Association of REALTORS® who meet the specified educational and practical experience criteria.

The CRS: Certified Residential Specialist, Realtors who receive the CRS Designation have completed advanced courses and have demonstrated professional expertise in the field of residential real estate. Fewer than 38,000 Realtors nationwide have earned the credential.

The e-PRO: An e-PRO is a REALTOR® who has successfully completed the e-PRO training program for real estate professionals. Endorsed by the National Association of REALTORS®, the e-PRO course teaches professionals the nuts and bolts of working with real estate on-line: Web sites, e-mail, on-line tools, and most of all, what today's consumer really wants.

The GRI: Stands for Graduate REALTOR® Institute, is a nationally recognized professional real estate designation. GRI is recognized nationwide as the standard for real estate professionalism and knowledge

The SRES
Seniors Real Estate Specialists® are REALTORS® qualified to address the needs of home buyers age 50-plus. By earning the SRES® designation, your REALTOR® has demonstrated necessary knowledge and expertise to counsel clients age 50-plus through major financial and lifestyle transitions involved in relocating, refinancing, or selling the family home.

Please post your comments, e-mail us with comments info@BartleyGroup, or give us a call (507) 390-2121

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Client Testimonials

The quotes below are what a few of our recent clients had to say about our service.

"Susan did an amazing job keeping us informed, guiding us w/good vendors & fiinancial institutions as well. I would recommed her to anyone. We were thrilled with her customer service." Aaron & Michelle

"The prosecc of buying our first home was very satisfying. Todd Berglund was very helpful explaining all of the items and closing procedures..." Jessica & Steve

"Susan, Brian & Todd went "Above & Beyond" in their efforts to sell our home. We would recommend The Bartley Group to any of our friends or acquaintances that are looking for help in their real estate transactions." Tony & Diane

"Susan & Brian were excellent, always giving us encouraging words, especially during the closing process." Bev & Jim

Monday, February 4, 2008

February 4, 2008

Interest Rates rose to 5.5% for a 30 year fixed on February 4, 2008. The Fed dropped interest rates .5% at a meeting last week. This has not actually resulted in mortgage rates falling yet but it has sparked a tremenous amount of consumer interest.


Current listing inventory - 195 active listings in Owatonna as of today, that is the lowest the count has been since January of 2007. However it is primarily due to a large number of listings expiring last week (many of them ours)and they will be coming back on the market. The number of pending listings remained stable at 17 houses. There were 19 properties Closed so far in 2008.

The 2007 year end market absorption chart is available and has quite a bit of interesting data.

Give us a call, 507-390-2121 or email us, mailto:info@BartleyGroup.com