Owatonna, MN Real Estate Market Conditions, August 25, 2008

Interest Rates finished the week last week at 6.375% for a 30 year fixed on Monday August 25, 2008. That is up just a bit. Interest rates have continued to be a bit unstable. We don't see interest rates coming down anytime soon.

Current real estate listing inventory - 218 active listings in Owatonna as of today. The active listing count has stayed fairly constant. We would like to see it down about 30 listings but at least it hasn't soared this summer like last year.

The number of pending listings is at 38 homes. This continues to be a good pending count however it is down a bit from previous levels. We look for it to fall quite a bit this week as we reach the end of the month.

There have been 196 properties Closed so far in 2008. Closed activity has been great over the last two months. There were 267 properties closed at this same time last year so we are down in the market 27% over 2007. BUT WE ARE STILL SELLING HOUSES! The real estate market hasn't come to an end. We will be doing a chart at the end of the month that shows how the market over the last 5 years.

Take a close look at the comparison charts. The closed chart is showing that over 43% of the homes that have closed this year had a price change and the average price change is just over $15,753. vs 55% of the active listings has had a price change (up 3%) and that average price change is $13,580. This has several possible reasons 1) Sellers are seeing the need to adjust the asking price of their home into the correct price range, to generate showing activity and offers. 2) More & more sellers are coming onto the market initially at the correct price. Take a look at these charts. Active Comparison Chart - Pending Comparison Chart - Closed Comparison Chart .

Give us a call and let us show you what is happening in the market right now. 507-390-2121

We have all of our listings available via Virtual Tour in English, Spanish and also in French

Owatonna, MN Real Estate Market Conditions, August 4, 2008

Interest Rates finished the week last week at 6.125% for a 30 year fixed on Friday August 1, 2008. We have seen interest rates bounce around from 5.75% to 6.25% recently. The bond market has been flaky and that leads to instability in the home mortgage market. We don't believe that rates are going to drop much, if at all.

Current real estate listing inventory - 215 active listings in Owatonna as of today. The active listing count has remained relatively stable for the last two months. The market activity has continued to be strong. we have seen quite a few new properties come on the market but the inventory is staying at fairly stable levels.

The number of pending listings is still at 44 homes. This continues to be a good pending count when you take into account the number of homes that closed in the last two months. The number of pending has not fallen as much as we expected.

There have been 177 properties Closed so far in 2008. Closed activity has been great over the last two months. We have seen the closed count climb quite a bit.

Take a close look at the comparison charts. The closed chart is showing that over 46% of the homes that have closed this year had a price change and the average price change is just over $15,945. vs 52% of the active listings has had a price change (up 8%) and that average price change is $13,454. This is a change in the market, for the first time the active listings have a higher percentage of price changes than the closed. This is a fantastic shift in the market Take a look at these charts. Active Comparison Chart - Pending Comparison Chart - Closed Comparison Chart .

Give us a call and let us show you what is happening in the market right now. 507-390-2121

We have all of our listings available via Virtual Tour in English, Spanish and also in French

Austin, MN - Real Estate Market Conditions June 6, 2008

Interest Rates have climbed a bit and they are currently at 6.00% for a 30 year fixed on Friday June 6, 2008.

Current real estate listing inventory - 239 active listings in Austin as of today. Listing count has climbed just a littlesince the last post. The fact that it is continuing to climb is something we need to watch carefully

There are 29 properties currently pending, that is down just a lot from the last post. Some of this was to be expected because the end of May is typically a very busy time for closings. However we would liked to have seen the count maintain itself a little bit stronger.

There have been 148 properties Closed so far in 2008. We had expected to see this count jump up a lot at the end of the month and it did. The good news is that properties are continuing to sell.

Take a look at the comparison charts. The closed chart is showing that over 55 % (down 4%) of the homes that have closed this year had a price change and the average price change is $14,172. vs only 48.5% (up 2%) of the active listings has had a price change with an average of $15,019. Take a look at these charts. Active Comparison Chart - Pending Comparison Chart - Closed Comparison Chart .

We are seeing fewer & fewer great deals in the market right now. If you have been sitting on the fence, now would be a good time to jump in. Give us a call.

Our New Austin # is 507-440-5703

Owatonna, MN Real Estate Market Conditions, June 6, 2008

Interest Rates have climbed a bit this week to finish at 6.00% for a 30 year fixed on Friday June 6, 2008. I'm hearing rumors that interest rates are going to continue to climb. This is what we predicted a few months ago. As the market begins to show signs of recovery and properties are selling more quickly, lenders no longer have as much incentive to lower rates and many will be trying to recoup some of the losses they have experienced through higher interest rates. If you have been sitting back waiting, now is the time to move. We don't believe that rates are going to drop much, if at all.

Current real estate listing inventory - 212 active listings in Owatonna as of today. The active listing count has climbed again over the last two weeks. The market activity has continued to be strong. we have seen quite a few new properties come on the market but the inventory is staying at fairly stable levels.

The number of pending listings is down to 43 homes. This still continues to be a good pending count when you take into account the number of homes that closed in the last two weeks. The number of pending has not fallen as much as we expected at the end of May.

There have been 118 properties Closed so far in 2008. Closed activity has been great over the last two weeks. We have seen the closed count climb quite a bit.

If the activity that we have seen in the last 2 months is any indication, we may have seen the bottom here in Owatonna.

Take a look at the comparison charts. The closed chart is showing that over 47 % of the homes that have closed this year had a price change and the average price change is just over $15,836. vs 47% of the active listings has had a price change (up 3%) and that average price change is $14,075. This is the narrowest this gap has been in 2008. We believe that many sellers have gotten the message about the importance of correct pricing on their homes. Take a look at these charts. Active Comparison Chart - Pending Comparison Chart - Closed Comparison Chart .

There are still some good deals to be had but there certainly are getting to be fewer than there were earlier this year. Confidence in the market is continuing to grow. I have heard from several lenders and appraisers that they are seeing an upturn in business as well.

Give us a call and let us show you what is happening in the market right now. 507-390-2121

We have all of our listings available via Virtual Tour in English, Spanish and also in French

Owatonna, MN Real Estate Market Conditions, May 23, 2008

Interest Rates have bounced this week but finished right where they started at 5.75% for a 30 year fixed on Friday May 23, 2008.

Current real estate listing inventory - 207 active listings in Owatonna as of today. The active listing count has climbed again over the last two weeks. The market activity has continued to be strong. Little bit slow the last couple of days as we approach the holiday weekend.

The number of pending listings is down one to 49 homes. It still continues to be an awesome pending count. Look for it to drop quite a bit though as we reach the end of the month.

There have been 97 properties Closed so far in 2008. Closed activity has been great over the last two weeks. Not at all what we expected during the first two weeks of the month. Look for the closed count to climb as we get to the end of the month.

Is the activity that we have seen in the last month an indication that we have seen the bottom? We aren't sure, only time will tell, but the activity continues to be refreshing. One thing we have noticed is that the number of listing with price changes seems to slowing.

Take a look at the comparison charts. The closed chart is showing that over 47 % of the homes that have closed this year had a price change (down 3%) and the average price change is just over $17,000. vs only 44% of the active listings has had a price change (down 2%) and that average price change is $13,766. Check out these charts. Active Comparison Chart - Pending Comparison Chart - Closed Comparison Chart .

There are still some great deals to be had but please stop waiting for the bottom to fall out. We are getting more confident that we have seen the worst here in SE Minnesota. Give us a call and let us show you what is happening in the market right now. 507-390-2121

We have all of our listings available via Virtual Tour in English, Spanish and also in French