June was a busy month for SPAAR President and Snyder Team leader Jennifer Snyder. “In addition to it being ‘that time of year’ when families want to get moved and settled before the new school year, buyers feel that we have finally hit the bottom in terms of affordability,” she said.

Snyder’s sentiments are reflected in statistics released last week for the 13-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. While new listings are down, pending sales are up—nearly one-and-a-half times what they were over last June’s post-tax credit slump.

“Properties that are priced appropriately for the market are moving,” said Snyder. “Listings at all different price points are selling—and in a couple of cases it’s even getting tricky to find the right inventory for a specific buyer—a good problem I haven’t experienced in a while,” she said.

When combined with record affordability, the 5.5% decline in new listings and a 15.9% decrease in inventory add an element of urgency buyers haven’t experienced in some time.

The flow of financially distressed properties onto the market appears to be slowing, and those on the market are selling. Foreclosures and short sales accounted for 38.2% of all sales, the lowest level since June 2010. 

For more details, look at these June statistics: THE 200+ I HOUSING SUPPLY OVERVIEW

Woodwinds Hospital in Woodbury has been named as one of the country’s 65 Great Community Hospitals by Becker’s Hospital Review, a publication that covers legal and business news and analysis relating to hospitals and health systems.

The hospital opened in 2000 and has 86 beds. Operated by HealthEast, Woodwinds partners with Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota to provide primary and specialty services for children and adults. It recently opened a cancer care clinic that offers chemotherapy, genetic counseling and oncology services.

This is not the first accolade for Woodwinds. The hospital at 1925 Woodwinds Drive was named one of Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals, one of the sources Becker’s used to compile its list.

The publication’s editorial team also reviewed data from U.S. News & World Report, HealthGrades and American Nurses Credentialing Center.

~Information from Tim Harlow, Minneapolis Star-Tribune~

Go to your typical real estate website.  What do you see?  Listings.  Lots and lots of listings.  Or in other words, sellers.  But what about the buyers?  They play just as important of a role in a real estate transaction.  RE/MAX Results understands this and is reinventing how we sell real estate.

Results.net, the RE/MAX Results website, now has Buyer Listings.  Sellers, whether they are on the market or even contemplating being on the market, can visit Results.net and search for active buyers who are currently under contract with RE/MAX Results. Simply enter a few pieces of information about the home you’d like to sell such as bedrooms, bathrooms and neighborhood or school district. Press the “Find Buyers” button. It will show you the matching buyers.

Visit Results.net today and check out this groundbreaking feature.  Are you interested in being added to the Buyer Listings?  Give us a call or send us an email today to learn more about it!

~Information from Marshall Saunders, Owner/Broker of RE/MAX Results.~

The annual Spring Parade of Homes starts this weekend.  Builders throughout the Twin Cities and Western Wisconsin showcase their latest designs.  This season there are over 340 homes to tour and be inspired by. 

The Parade starts this Saturday, March 5^th and goes through Sunday, April 3^rd.   The model homes are open every Thursday through Sunday from 12-6pm.  Pick up a guidebook with all the locations at your nearest Holiday Station Store. 

Will you be checking out the Spring 2011 Parade of Homes?

We’re starting a new blog feature this month!  We love exploring the communities we serve and we want to share our experiences with you.  Each month one of our team members will share their favorite restaurant, park, shop, or other community spot right here.  We’d also love to feature your favorites…so send them our way!

This month we’re featuring one of Jennifer Snyder’s favorites in Woodbury, Angelina’s Kitchen!  You’ll find this cozy little spot at 2170H Eagle Creek Lane.  Their motto is “Take Out You’ll Feel Great About.”  They specialize in healthy, delicious, and fresh meals.  Italian classics like Baked Ziti are always featured while updated versions of comfort foods are also available day to day and week to week.  The ever changing menu means there is always something tasty to bring home for dinner.  Angelina’s Kitchen also provides a catering menu to bring flavor to your next event.

Angelina’s Kitchen is also expanding!  They are partnering with Beans & Bakery next door to become Angelina’s Cafe.  After some renovations, they’ll be serving a new menu featuring items like salads, paninis, all natural frozen yogurt, home made cupcakes, and much more. 

We hope you’ll check out Angelina’s Kitchen and Angelina’s Cafe.  If you call or stop by, let them know The Snyder Team sent you.  Click here to go to their website or find them on Facebook!

Monthly Skinny Video February 2011

The video is also offered in Spanish for our relocation friends!

Monthly Skinny Video February 2011 ~ Spanish

Home Sales were up in January 10.4 percent from a year ago and were the highest January total in the Twin Cities since 2007. “We’ve had back-to-back months where sales have outpaced our expectations,” said Jennifer Snyder, our team member and president of the St. Paul Area Association of REALTORS®.

In January in the Twin Cities, there were 2,209 sales compared to 2,001 sales a year ago, an increase of 10.39 percent. January and February are traditionally the slowest months of the year for home sales in the Twin Cities. “We have seen an uptick in sales activity and activity in the market in the last two months,” Snyder said.

Median prices were down 10.8 percent from last year to $140,000, from $157,000 last January. “We saw sales down last year, but prices increased slightly. We may be seeing a shift of increased sales activity tied to prices adjusting,” Snyder said. “Especially in the winter months, there are buyers looking for bargains, and the price decrease likely reflects an increase in sales of foreclosed properties and other distressed properties.”

The median is the mid-point. Half the homes sold for more, half for less. Numbers reflect the 13-county metro area and include single-family, condominiums and townhouses.

~SPAAR Press Release February 11, 2011~

Why We’re Here: Twin Cities

After viewing the video we want to know, why do you live in the Twin Cities?

Monthly Skinny January 2011

Forbes recently released its 2011 List of Best and Worst Job Markets in the United States. The Minneapolis-St. Paul area found itself at number 4 on the Best Job Market List.  Washington, DC was rated number 1 on the Best list followed by Boston and then Austin.  Las Vegas was named the Worst Job Market in the US.

The Twin Cities employment market is expected to be fully recovered by mid-2011, according to Moody’s Economy.com.  This is far early than what is expected nationally.  The unemployment rate is 6.5%, under the national average.  For every position there are 2.68 job seekers. Professional service jobs and manufacturing are the sectors expected to bring job growth to Minneapolis-St. Paul in 2011

The 2011 list of Best and Worst Job Markets was compiled by using unemployment data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Job Search Difficulty Index from JuJu.com.  Additional analysis of trends came from Moody.

To see a slideshow of the entire 2011 Best and Worst Job Markets List, click here.

~Information from Forbes.com~