Rochester MN Real Estate Market Blog

When you bought your home, chances are pretty good that you paid a professional home inspector to check it out before you bought it. It may have been especially useful at the time in your decision regarding the home’s value. But do you know what you did with the report once the purchase negotiations were [...]

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There’s an old real estate rule of thumb that the first offer you receive is usually the best one. I’ve run into this with several listings where the seller received an offer early on, made a stiff counteroffer back to the buyer and the buyer headed for the hills. In some cases, as much as 24 months [...]

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In a competitive market with fewer buyers, more homes for sale and longer market times, you want to do everything you can to be sure your home doesn’t linger on the market. Listings which expire without selling and often without a single offer become harder to sell at the best price.
While you can’t control the [...]

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The real estate market is far different than it was several years ago. Now, homes may linger on the market for months or years without a sale or even an offer. Nevertheless, some properties do sell quickly. Understanding why some sell and others do not is essential to helping your own home sell quickly in [...]

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When you list your home for sale, the objective is to get the most money in your pocket as possible. It seems intuitive that you would get the most money by paying the least money to get it sold. Reality, however, is that you get what you pay for.
Your listing options run the gamut from putting a [...]

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In a buyer’s market, it’s critical that home sellers do everything they can to position their property so it will stand out from the competition. The four main reasons a property doesn’t sell are condition, staging, pricing, and marketing. Part 1 addressed condition: condition colors the buyer’s perception – a home that is in excellent condition conveys [...]

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When you are selling your home, it is incredibly frustrating to have days, weeks, and even months go by without a sale. Worst-case — the listing expires without a sale. With increasing average market time to sale, the number of listings expiring each month is on the rise.
Understanding the reasons why listings expire can help [...]

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Some buyers balk at working with a buyer’s agent because they are concerned it will cost them money. This is understandable since it is customary to sign an agreement with the buyer’s agent defining their compensation as a percentage of the sale price.
Rather than see this as a cost, see it as a protection for [...]

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For years now, we’ve been recommending that home sellers pay for a professional home inspection when they list their home for sale so that both parties know the home’s strengths and weaknesses before an offer is ever made. With current market conditions favoring buyers, savvy home sellers understand that paying for a professional home inspection [...]

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After a solid five year run of record home sales, the market is readjusting itself to a more normal level. Most of those who wanted to move have moved. Interest rates are rising again, lowering the upper end ceiling for buyers overall. With buyers qualifying for a lower mortgage today than they might have a [...]

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