St. Paul Real Estate

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Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

No one is out to get you
2008-05-21 13:05:00
Real estate transactions are about people. For most people their home is the most expensive thing they ever purchase. It isn't just a building either, where we live is an important part of life. Even though purchasing a home is...
More About: General

Lilacs, because it is spring
2008-05-21 07:08:00
I hate to interrupt my blog, but the Lilacs are blooming, and will only last about another week. The weather is lovely this week, I am sure your boss will understand if you just take the day off and enjoy...
More About: Photos

Is a Pre-Approval Letter Worth Much?
2008-05-20 07:15:00
The first step for home buyers is to meet with a lender. The purpose of meeting with a lender is to find out how much money can be borrowed to purchase a home, and to receive that all important pre-approval...

Spring Green
2008-05-19 07:15:00
It has been a beautiful weekend and we earned it after the winter we just had. This shot was taken at Pickerel lake, which is located just west of Harriet Island Regional Park. it is a small lake, across the...
More About: Photos

Sesquicentennial Party
2008-05-18 06:09:00
By Erik Hare Last week was the Sesquicentennial of Minnesota statehood, but the real party is this weekend. If they were holding out one week for better spring weather, they got it. On a 70 degree day there were just...

Around, and Around since 1914
2008-05-17 07:10:00
Cafesjian's Carousel, Operated by volunteers in St. Paul's Como Park, this 68-horse carousel was built in 1914, in Philadelphia and moved to the Minnesota State Fair Grounds in St. Paul. (see history) It is beautiful with all the hand painted...
More About: Places

How Do You Like My Hat?
2008-05-16 07:08:00
It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. It has been a challenging week but like I always say neither real estate or writing a blog are for wimps or whiners. My job takes a lot of stamina, nerves of...

Don't miss out
2008-05-15 11:21:00
The crabapple trees are blooming.
More About: Photos , Miss

Meet the Parents
2008-05-14 07:10:00
Some of my clients are in their twenties and buying their first home. I am always thrilled to be a part of the process. Some couples really work together on it and other couples discover that they don't have quite...
More About: Meet , Parents

Harriet Island at Night
2008-05-13 17:15:00
I do go out during the day but lately it seems easier to get some photos at night. I went to Harriet island a few nights ago. It looks deserted but it isn't. There are people out walking when the...
More About: Photos , Night , Island

They can get away
2008-05-13 07:10:00
It happens all the time. I don't think people believe me when I say if you want the house you need to make an offer. Some buyers like to wait until the price goes down a bit. The price may...

My dog ate my Appraisal
2008-05-12 07:10:00
Did you ever write a blog post and have it dissapear? It happened to me, and I had to start all over again. I would rather just say that my dog ate it and get on with my day, and...

150 Years!
2008-05-11 05:55:00
By Erik Hare One hundred and fifty years ago today, May 11, 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state. The bill was finally ratified by Congress on this day after months of wrangling. This was a perilous time for the union,...
More About: Years

The Sidewalk Artist
2008-05-10 07:15:00
I spend a fair amount of time in and around downtown St. Paul. Now with the warmer weather downtown is more fun. There are people outside eating, walking, and playing music. Jimmy Walace plays his saxophone in front of the...
More About: Artist , Downtown

The Magic Camera
2008-05-09 07:15:00
Last Friday I posted some photos that I took down by the river because Fridays are for fun. Fridays are also for work but I try not to think about that. Someone who calls himself "The Man in the Red...
More About: Camera , Magic

Home Prices and Sales by Neighborhood
2008-05-08 12:34:00
My tulips are blooming and I just had to take a picture of them. When the yellow blossoms are finished the orange will start blooming and then the pink and the red. I thought they would look nice with this...
More About: Sales , Home , Neighborhood , Prices

What consumers should know about agency
2008-05-07 07:15:00
This post is a kind of public service message that I like to run once a year. Today is the day. This applies to Minnesota, real estate is locally regulated so it may not work the same way in other...
More About: Agency , Consumers

Listings Vs. Sales For St. Paul
2008-05-07 03:32:00
The red line on the chart above shows the number of homes that were listed for sale through the Regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) each week since the beginning of the year. The blue line shows how many homes had...
More About: Sales , Listings , Paul

Spring in the City
2008-05-05 21:33:00
The Rochet building on West 7th Street, near downtown St. Paul.
More About: Photos , Spring , City , In the City

Long Distance Relationships
2008-05-05 16:22:00
It is becoming more common in my job to work for sellers that I never meet. We have long distance business relationships. It is more common with condos and lofts than with any other type of real estate. Owners move...
More About: Relationships , Long , Long Distance

Sibley Bike Depot
2008-05-04 06:11:00
By Erik Hare University Avenue is one of the most colorful streets in Saint Paul. Along this broad ribbon of asphalt you can find Asian markets, soul food, discount importers of fine crafts, and car repair shops that do business...
More About: Bike

Spring Green
2008-05-03 18:07:00
At last spring is here. I love that shade of green that we only see in the early spring. It only lasts for a couple of weeks. This would be a good time to stop reading my blog and go...
More About: Photos , Green , Spring

I shoot them, I don't sell them
2008-05-02 07:15:00
The Mississippi River and the Wabasha bridge. The Minnesota Centennial show boat parked at Harriet Island Friday at last and Friday's are for fun. I did have some fun yesterday but not too much fun. I took these photos very...
More About: Sell , Shoot

Rent to a Republican
2008-05-01 11:59:00
No it isn't Friday and before I wrote the title to this post I had to check the fair housing regulations. It doesn't seem to violate any laws to talk about the political affiliation of possible home renters. I have...
More About: Republican , Paul , Rent

Vacancy Rate
2008-04-30 07:10:00
Yesterday I ran absorption rates for the seven county metro area.  It would have been nice if I had mentioned that an adsorption rate of about six months indicates a balanced real estate market.  Balanced means a market that does not favor the buyer of the seller.  We had a sellers market for several years, in the last two years we have seen a buyers market.  It is still a buyers market but it is coming closer to a more balanced market.  An absorption rate of less than six months indicates a sellers market, an absorption rate of more than six months indicates a buyers market. Yesterday I checked to see how many registered vacant building there are in St. Paul and discovered that the number is still rising at an alarming rate.  There are currently 1775 registered vacant buildings in St. Paul.  Last time a checked, about a month ago there were 1695. Here is a breakdown of the vacant properties I found on the city of St. Paul web site:Commercial&nb...
More About: Vacancy , Rate

Absorption Rates, Looking Better
2008-04-29 10:59:00
Absorption rates are a  calculation of how long it will take for all the homes on the market to be sold, or absorbed, based on how many homes are on the market and how many were purchased in the last 30 days. I do love numbers, and these are in months, the data used came from the RMLS, (MLS) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.  It doesn't come with a warranty either.  The absorption rates are for  the 7 county metro area not to be confused with the 13 county metro are which covers the same area, plus six more counties.  I also ran seperate numbers for St. Paul and for Minneapolis.  St. Paul  6.8 Months Minneapolis  6.1 Months Anoka County - 8.0 Months Carver County - 7.5 Months Dakota County -  7.7 Months Hennepin County - 7.4 Months Ramsey County -  7.1 Months Scott County - 9.0 Months Washington County - 7.6 Months Absorption rates went down across the board for the second month in a row. Down means the numbe...
More About: Rates , Absorption

Spring and Art, both can be found in St. Paul
2008-04-28 07:15:00
Some shots from last weekends Lowertown art crawl. I really enjoyed seeing all of the art work and the artists lofts. The weather on Saturday was less than ideal for outdoor activities, the Art crawl seemed like the perfect thing...
More About: General , Spring , Paul

Streets
2008-04-27 05:49:00
By Erik Hare The streets of Saint Paul are laid out in ways that baffle most people. Governor Ventura famously observed on Leno?s show that they were laid out by Irish people, ?And you all know what they like to...
More About: Streets

Art Crawl
2008-04-26 12:34:00
This weekend was Lowertown?s annual Art Crawl . If you?re not familiar with this event, it happens every six months and is a time when artists throughout Lowertown open their studios (often their houses, too!) so that they can show off...

The Oatmeal Artist
2008-04-25 13:04:00
Where did the time go? It is Friday again and Friday's are for fun. Saturday's are for breakfast at the Downtowner. Every Saturday I eat breakfast with my husband and the ancient ones, my parents, at the Downtowner Woodfire Grill,...
More About: Artist , Oatmeal