January 2009 
There are 16 blog entries for January 2009.
Six Degrees of Home Staging - Wayne Newton
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 2:25pm. 645 Views, 0 Comments.
For die-hard home stagers and staging fanatics around the world, home staging is believed to be linked to any profession, celebrity, or life event with-in six degrees. For our first attempt, let's start with an easy one...
Wayne Newton and Home Staging
Upcoming Real Estate Events in the Twin Cities
Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 8:00am. 507 Views, 0 Comments.
Upcoming Real Estate Events in the Twin Cities
Buying a Duplex. At this event, you can learn how to identify and evaluate investment properties. Topics will include rehab vs. rental, life as a landlord, financing and Section 8 basics. It costs $18 and will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28, at St. Paul Community Education, Harding High School, 1540 E. 6th St. 651-293-8733.
Finding and Buying Your First Home. Topics at this event will include choosing a mortgage, first-time home-buyer programs, government loans, hiring a real estate agent and negotiating the best price in a buyer's market. It costs $15 and will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Feb. 2 at the Minneapolis Community Education, Anwatin Middle School, 256 Upton Av. S.…
Possible Revision of Home Buyer Tax Credit
Sunday, January 25th, 2009 at 3:27pm. 553 Views, 0 Comments.
On January 15th of this year, the U.S. House Democratic leadership outlined its $825 billion economic stimulus package, loaded with $275 billion in tax cuts and $550 billion in new spending. Within this package was a significant improvement to last summer's congressional effort to stimulate home sales, which offered a credit of up to $7,500 to purchasers who had never bought a house or hadn't owned one during the previous three years. To qualify, taxpayers would need to close on a house between April 8, 2008, and this coming July 1.
There was just one problem: unlike virtually all other federal tax credits, this one had to be repaid in full over a 15-year period. That made the tax cut more of a $7,500 interest-free installment loan. Though final…
Minneapolis Near North Community Highlights
Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at 6:00pm. 589 Views, 0 Comments.
The Near North Community can be found on the north and west side of Minneapolis. It is bordered to the south by Bassett’s creek, to the west by Penn Avenue, to the north by Lowry Avenue North, and to the east by I-94, Lyndale Avenue North and the Mississippi River. Contained within it are six smaller neighborhoods.
Hawthorne - The Hawthorne neighborhood is in the northeast corner of the Near North community in Minneapolis. The neighborhood is bounded by the Mississippi River on the east and Emerson Avenue on the west; Broadway Avenue is the southern extent and Lowry Avenue is the neighborhood’s northern boundary. The Hawthorne neighborhood is named after the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, born in 1804. The Hawthorne neighborhood is also…Saint Paul’s Merriam Park Neighborhood Highlights
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 11:00pm. 856 Views, 0 Comments.
The Merriam Park neighborhood is located on the western boarder of Saint Paul in the central part of the city. It is bordered on the north by University Avenue and Interstate 94, on the east by Lexington Parkway, on the south by Summit Avenue, and the west by the Mississippi River. This neighborhood is one of St. Paul's oldest.
The first occupants of Merriam Park were innkeepers who catered to the Red River traders. In the 1880's when Colonel John Merriam owned much of the land in what was to become Merriam Park, he envisioned the area as a commuter suburb for working professionals. He felt its convenient location and access to St. Paul’s trolley system made it an ideal location.
Due to its deep history, the Merriam Park of Saint Paul has some…
Home Remodeling Blogs in the Twin Cities
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 10:08pm. 1595 Views, 3 Comments.
Renovating or just making repairs to a house in the Twin Cities? This is the post for you.
The last two blog posts here were about the Minneapolis and Saint Paul real estate markets in December. Though more homes have been selling, the prices they’ve been selling for has been dropping. That is due to a variety of reasons. One of them is that many of the houses in Minneapolis and St. Paul are old and in need of renovations. This often drops the price a bit, as the new owners will ultimately spend some time and money fixing them up.
If you’re renovating or remodeling a home in the Twin Cities, you’re not alone. Lots of houses in the area, because of their age, are in need of at least a little fixing-up. Some more than others. This Star Tribune…
Saint Paul Real Estate Market Analysis: December 2008
Sunday, January 18th, 2009 at 11:27pm. 770 Views, 0 Comments.
The last St. Paul real estate market analysis for the year of 2008. Let’s get it done! New posted listings for homes in St. Paul, Minnesota, increased in December according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities. During December, there were 399 new listings in St. Paul, compared to the 351 homes put up on the market during the same month of 2007. That is an increase of about +13.7%. Unlike November, lots of neighborhoods saw increases in new listings. The increase in new listings is a little unusual, given that December is so full of holidays. Here is a breakdown of new listings by Saint Paul neighborhood: (Barker & Hedges blog entry about November 2008 St. Paul Real Estate Market Activity.)
Minneapolis Real Estate Market Analysis: December 2008
Friday, January 16th, 2009 at 10:32pm. 547 Views, 0 Comments.
It’s that last real estate market analysis for Minneapolis for the year of December 2008! Let’s get to it! The number of new listings in Minneapolis has declined compared to 2007 again during the month of December, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities. There were 555 new listings last month, while in December 2007, there were 567 new listings, a decrease of just -2.1%. The Northeast, Powderhorn, and University Area communities saw increases in new listings while the rest of the Minneapolis areas saw decreases in new listings. Here is an inventory of December 2008 new listings in Minneapolis by community and the percentage of change that has occurred compared to December 2007 (Previous…
Updates on Infrastructure in Minneapolis
Thursday, January 15th, 2009 at 2:03pm. 441 Views, 0 Comments.
I noticed today that there are a few Minneapolis city infrastructure and service projects being talked about and planned. I thought that I would list them here, because they are some important developments that will affect the quality of life here. These are in no particular order.
Water Filtration Upgrade to Be Canceled
In a move that would dampen water rate hikes in Minneapolis and seven suburbs, the city is moving to cancel a $90 million water filtration upgrade. A staff recommendation would end work on the planned Fridley ultrafiltration plant, originally budgeted at far less than the expected cost. The move was endorsed by a City Council committee on Tuesday. The cancellation would remove the biggest cost factor driving up city water rates,…Twin Cities - Making the List
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 9:25am. 495 Views, 0 Comments.
The Twin Cities have made a few “best of” lists that haven’t been shared yet in this blog. I thought that I would take a few minutes today to write about some of the lists that Minneapolis and St. Paul have made lately.
Minneapolis and Saint Paul made Travel & Leisure’s America’s Favorite Cities 2008 list. The people who voted on the Twin Cities found that out of 25 others, they were clean (No. 2) and full of intelligent and friendly people (ranked 2 and 3 respectively). The highest rated feature of the Twin Cities are its theaters, in which it ranked 3rd only behind New York and Chicago.
In December, Forbe’s released a list in which it evaluated the country's 40 largest Census-defined metro areas using the last 25 years of NAHB data to determine…
My Account
Log in, to view your saved searches and add to your favorite listings.
... So You Can:
- View detailed property information
- Print detailed property flyers
- Save your searches & favorite homes
- Inquire about a private showing
- Map individual property locations
- Share your favorite homes with friends
