Rochester MN Real Estate Market Blog

Good morning!

The Rochester area real estate market continued to plug along last week with total active listings up 10% over last year and everything else down between 30% and 40% from a year ago.  The 26 homes with signed agreements last week (August 13 to 19, 2010) represented a 24% increase over the previous week’s 21 homes under contract.  There were 23 homes that closed, half again as many as the previous week.  Average market time for both homes going under contract to pending and those that closed remained steady from a week earlier. There were 34 new listings last week, down 35% from last week, 38% from a year ago.    

The average sold price for the homes that closed last week was 96.3% of the list price, but just 87.9% of the original asking price.  With so many homes currently for sale, accurate pricing from the outset is essential to achieving the best sales price.

There are currently 1178 homes for sale in Rochester, MN with an average list price of $221,661 (median $169,900) and an average of 173 days on the market.

To view this past week’s area real estate activity, click here for new listings and click here for pended listings.

Fall is approaching, so it’s time to start thinking about doing those projects around the house that have taken back seat to summer plans.  Your home is most likely one of your biggest investments, and it is well worth the time and money to keep it in the best condition possible.  Regardless of whether you plan on selling any time in the near (or not so near) future, it is much easier to keep your home in great shape than to try to catch up all at once.

When the weather gets cooler it’s a great time to spruce up your walls with a fresh coat of paint.  Painting your whole house, or even just one room, not only makes your home feel clean and bright,  it also gives you the opportunity to declutter, reorganize, and refresh your space.  This allows you to enjoy your home even more, plus it makes it that much easier to sell when the time comes.

Before you start, be sure to clean the walls and also do your homework to figure out the best kind of paint for the job.  There are many great resources on the internet with tips for prepping and painting. Keep in mind that cheapest isn’t always best.  For example, one coat paint may cost a little more per gallon, but you need less so you’ll save money, plus you’ll finish in half the time.  However, how washable the paint is can be a much more important consideration.  The ability to wipe off fingerprints and scuffmarks is definitely worth a few dollars now, rather than having to repaint in a short amount of time.  

Using the same color paint in multiple rooms can reduce the number of gallons you need.  If you choose to do that, it’s a good idea to use a fairly neutral color to give you more flexibility in how you decorate each room.  With neutral walls you can easily change the feel of the room simply by swapping out wall hangings and window treatments, which is especially useful when you sell your home.  If you are considering selling your home anytime soon, it’s a good idea to consult with your Realtor about the colors you’ve chosen.  Neutrals are not always a must when selling your home, and not all neutrals are created equal.  The right colors or neutrals can really make your home shine.

Investing in the right supplies is worth it as well.  Pretaped drop cloths are not inexpensive, but they make prep and cleanup a breeze.  Good brushes and rollers will make the job go more quickly, and disposable paint tray liners let you easily change from one color to another.  Do take a shopping list to the store so you don’t end up with unnecessary items undoing all of your savings.

Another great benefit to painting is that you have to clean and declutter before you paint.  When you put the room back together, take the time to edit furniture and accessories.  Donate, recycle or pitch items you no longer need.  Even if you just take one room at a time, eventually your home will be cleaner and less cluttered (and everyone has at least a little clutter), with a sparkling paint job that welcomes people into your home.  You deserve to enjoy  your home while you’re living in it, plus it makes it will be even more desirable to potential buyers when it comes time to sell.

Copyright © 2010 Shawn Buryska

Homes have continued to sell in Rochester through the summer months, although at a much lower volume than in previous years.  The Home Buyer Tax Credit briefly shifted  the curve upward, putting home sales through the end of April on pace with a year earlier.  The sharp drop-off that followed supports the theory that the higher volume was simply the result of home purchases that were pushed ahead.  There were 100 signed contracts on Rochester area residential properties in July 2010, down 14-1/2% from June and down one third from a year ago. Year to date, the number of homes that have gone under contract is down more than 10% compared to last year; at the end of April this number had been up 6.7% from a year earlier.  Not surprisingly, average market time to pending is up 34% over year ago with homes averaging nearly five weeks longer to sell than last July.

New listings dropped 8.3% in July, reaching the lowest number so far this year.  Year to date, new listings are up nearly 5% from last year, at least in part as a result of the Home Buyer Tax Credit activity of the first several months of the year.  Although total active listings (1227) were up 12% from a year ago, month to month the volume has continued to decline since hitting a high of 1317 in April.  There were 86 closings in July, half as many as a year ago, with an average of 108 days on the market.

For the latest in local real estate stats make sure to check out http://www.shawnburyska.com/real-estate-statistics.php

Shawn Buryska ABR, CRS, GRI
Coldwell Banker Burnet Realty
507-252-6745
www.ShawnBuryska.com

The focus seems to be more on preparing for back to school than on buying homes as things slowed a little last week in the local real estate market.  Last year’s numbers would imply that this is the norm for this time of year since the 16 closings last week (August 6 to 12, 2010) represented a 33% improvement over the same time period a year ago.  There were 21 homes that went under contract, down 42% from last year, but only a 12.5% drop from the previous week.  Average market time for the homes that went under contract last week was just 85 days, a 59% drop from the previous week.   New listings were steady year over year with 52 homes that came onto the market last week.  Total active listings remain up 10% from a year ago, which has been fairly consistent for a while now.

There are currently 1173 homes for sale in Rochester, MN with an average list price of $222,990 (median $169,900) and an average of 170 days on the market.

To view this past week’s area real estate activity, click here for new listings and click here for pended listings.

Good morning!

The Rochester area residential housing market is continuing to plug along.  Although the sales activity is still shifted significantly downward from a year ago, we have been seeing slow steady improvement week over week for a few weeks now.  Last week (July 30 to August 5, 2010) there were 24 signed contracts and 26 closings, a drop of 35% and 50% respectively over a year ago, yet an increase of 14% and 24% respectively over the previous week.  New listings jumped 77% last week, and yet were still down 12% from the same time period last year.

Total active listings stayed steady at 1228 residential properties for sale in Rochester, an increase of 10% over a year ago.  There are currently 1207 homes for sale in the area.  The average market time for the 26 homes that closed last week was 73 days, more than 40% shorter than the previous week.  It’s no surprise then that the average sold price for these homes was much closer to the original list price than in previous weeks –97.4% of the asking price and 95.8% of the original list price.  Average market time for the 24 homes that had signed contracts last week was 206 days.

To view this past week’s area real estate activity, click here for new listings and click here for pended listings.

Good morning!

Here we are in August already! Market activity through the end of July continued down significantly from a year ago.  However, we did see a little more activity last week (July 23 to 29, 2010) over the previous week with 21 signed contracts and 21 closings.  New listings were down slightly from a week earlier, and down 45% from the same time last year.

Total active listings were down slightly from the previous week, but overall represent an increase of 10% over a year ago, with 1228 residential properties currently for sale in Rochester.  Average sold price for the 21 homes that closed last week was 97.0% of the asking price, just 91.1% of the original list price.  Average market time for these homes was 126 days.  Average market time for the 21 homes that had signed contracts last week was 127 days.

To view this past week’s area real estate activity, click here for new listings and click here for pended listings.

Good morning!

It’s the last week of July, we’re heading into the last month of the summer, and it shows.  The Rochester area housing market continued along at a slower pace, with 37% fewer homes under contract last week compared to a year earlier and 53% fewer closings than the same period of 2009.  New listings were down nearly a third over a year ago, but continued to outpace homes that had signed agreements by a third. 

Total active listings are up 11% over a year ago, with 1237 residential properties currently for sale in Rochester.  Average sold price for the 16 homes that closed last week was 96.7% of the asking price, just 92.4% of the original list price.  Average market time for these homes was 81 days.  Average market time for the 19 homes that had signed contracts last week was 156 days.

To view this past week’s area real estate activity, click here for new listings and click here for pended listings.

I’ve taken a new listing at 1070 8^th Ave NW Byron, MN 55920.  It is a 4 Bedroom, 3 bath 2 story.  The listing number is 4023026 and the home info line number is 397040.  You can find all the details here.

I’ve taken a new listing at 709 20^th St SE Kasson, MN 55944.  It is a 5 Bedroom, 4 bath 2 story.  The listing number is 4022990 and the home info line number is 397880.  You can find all the details here.

I’ve taken a new listing at 4514 Glen Ln NW Rochester, MN 55901.  It is a 4 Bedroom, 2 bath walkout split.  The listing number is 4022983 and the home info line number is 398570.  You can find all the details here.