Today we'll head over to the other side of the Twin Cities, and north a bit. Pine County, Minnesota is generally in the 1-1.5 hour range north of St. Paul, up Interstate 35. Pine City -- bordered by Cross Lake and Pokegama Lake -- is at the southern end of the county, and Sturgeon Lake, along with it's namesake body of water, is on the north end.
You will find a bit of a crossover in the Duluth MLS in the northern part of the county, so some of the listings will only show up there. But for today's purposes, we will use data from the Northstar MLS from the Twin Cities, which will have most of the county's listings.
Just as we did in Wright County, we are only going to be showing statistics for the residential properties, as there are only 17 lake lots currently on the market, and there were only two of those sales last year. As I mentioned before, there really aren't enough lake lot sales near the metro area to get good figures on these, or ideas of value, so I will only use full stats in outlying areas.
So here is the data for the last three years:
Residential Lakefront Properties
Active on Market
62
Average Price
$269,782
Average (total) Days on Market
301
Solds 1/01/10 - 9/15/10
22
Average List Price
$216,450
Average Sold Price
$204,457
Average (total) Days on Market
174
Solds 1/01/09 - 9/15/09
26
Average List Price
$242,746
Average Sold Price
$223,179
Average (total) Days on Market
249
Solds 1/01/08 - 9/15/08
27
Average List Price
264,526
Average Sold Price
$242,539
Average (total) Days on Market
238
After looking at this data, it seems that the both the average list price and sale price in Pine County has come down signicantly this year, which also may be lowering the average days on the market. Perhaps those prices are getting to a point where buyers are seeing them as good values now and moving on them faster.
We will continue to keep looking around Minnesota and Western Wisconsin in the days to come, in search of the best opportunities in this market.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Breaking it Down (Part 2) Wright County
Yesterday I provided you with the statistics for active and sold waterfront properties in Itasca County, to give you an idea of how the market is faring there compared to last year. As we found, it is holding its own after the main summer months. And fall can still be a fairly active lakeshore market, depending on the weather...and peoples' moods!
Today, we will visit Wright County just to the west of the Twin Cities. Unlike Itasca County, which would be a very difficult commute from Minneapolis -- in the three hour range -- the Wright County Area lakes are a combination of year-round homes and cabins, mainly for those who work in metro area. So let's see how places like Buffalo, Maple Lake, Annandale and Howard Lake, Minnesota are doing this year.
Like yesterday, we will provide the number of Active Waterfront Properties, along with the average price range and average days on the market. Then we will look at those same categories of Sold properties compared to the ones in the same time frame last year.
Residential Properties
Active on Market
195
Average Price
$397,914
Average Days on Market
231 (total combined days if listed more than once)
Solds 1/01/10 - 9/13/10
55
Average List Price
$321,218
Average Sold Price
$301,208
Average (total) Days on Market
237
Solds 1/01/09 - 9/13/09
51
Average List Price
$360,819
Average Sold Price
$338,422
Average (total) Days on Market
231
Solds 1/01/08 - 9/13/08
53
Average List Price
$379,749
Average Sold Price
$359,774
Average (total) days on market
196
Because of the downward trend still taking place in Wright County, I decided to go back an extra year to compare 2008 as well. It is hard to tell if we are at bottom here yet or not, but we should get good indications of the market overall as we continue to delve into the stats for each county in Minnesota.
Hopefully, this will be helpful for you to get a "crystal ball view" of what might be happening in the market before it occurs, and beat everyone else to the table. Once the market hits bottom, then eveyone knows about it!
As far as Wright County Waterfront Lots, there aren't really enough lake lot sales around the Twin Cities to get a good representation of that type of property movement. Currently, there are 47 lake lots on the market in the county. There were six sales this year during the same time period as noted above, and there were five last year between those dates. For the most part, lakeshore lots will show more realistic numbers in the outer areas of the state.
Come back often as we continue our 2010 Stats Tour around Minnesota.
Today, we will visit Wright County just to the west of the Twin Cities. Unlike Itasca County, which would be a very difficult commute from Minneapolis -- in the three hour range -- the Wright County Area lakes are a combination of year-round homes and cabins, mainly for those who work in metro area. So let's see how places like Buffalo, Maple Lake, Annandale and Howard Lake, Minnesota are doing this year.
Like yesterday, we will provide the number of Active Waterfront Properties, along with the average price range and average days on the market. Then we will look at those same categories of Sold properties compared to the ones in the same time frame last year.
Residential Properties
Active on Market
195
Average Price
$397,914
Average Days on Market
231 (total combined days if listed more than once)
Solds 1/01/10 - 9/13/10
55
Average List Price
$321,218
Average Sold Price
$301,208
Average (total) Days on Market
237
Solds 1/01/09 - 9/13/09
51
Average List Price
$360,819
Average Sold Price
$338,422
Average (total) Days on Market
231
Solds 1/01/08 - 9/13/08
53
Average List Price
$379,749
Average Sold Price
$359,774
Average (total) days on market
196
Because of the downward trend still taking place in Wright County, I decided to go back an extra year to compare 2008 as well. It is hard to tell if we are at bottom here yet or not, but we should get good indications of the market overall as we continue to delve into the stats for each county in Minnesota.
Hopefully, this will be helpful for you to get a "crystal ball view" of what might be happening in the market before it occurs, and beat everyone else to the table. Once the market hits bottom, then eveyone knows about it!
As far as Wright County Waterfront Lots, there aren't really enough lake lot sales around the Twin Cities to get a good representation of that type of property movement. Currently, there are 47 lake lots on the market in the county. There were six sales this year during the same time period as noted above, and there were five last year between those dates. For the most part, lakeshore lots will show more realistic numbers in the outer areas of the state.
Come back often as we continue our 2010 Stats Tour around Minnesota.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Breaking it Down
Hope you all had a good summer. I decided to take a break from the writing for a few months just to see how this market was shaking out. Some of the talking heads were saying that it was going to be a fantastic real estate year, and others thought we were in for a much deeper fall. Of course, the only way to tell for sure is to look at the market after the fact, and I think we can now start taking a little glimpse into that data.
There is no doubt that the tax credit idea did help spur sales for first time buyers last spring, but the fallout of that is probably still going on. Many of those people would have purchased anyway, and would have evened out the market some over the next several months. Instead, that market came to an abrupt halt once the credits had gone away, and led to headlines in August such as, "Metro-area Home Sales Down 42% Over Last Month."
But our focus continues to be on waterfront properties for the most part. So I am going to start putting out the real numbers -- county by county -- to give you the honest truth.
Today, I am starting with Itasca County, Minnesota, the home of Grand Rapids, Marcell, Bigfork, Coleraine, Deer River, and a few other hamlets. It is also the early home of Judy Garland, who moved away for bigger and better things before she could spend much time out on the lakes. It is a water-filled area where the Mississippi River winds through, and boasts 1007 lakes within its boundaries, according to Mary Shideler -- The Kayak Lady -- who has paddled all of them as of this year, an odyssey she began in 1996.
When you use multiple listing data to look at sales in defined areas, you are always going to have some overlap between various counties. So even though most of these properties are in Itasca County itself, some will be in Koochiching, St. Louis, Cass, and perhaps a couple others that border it. But for the most part, the idea of comparing apples to apples in terms of sales from year to year will remain true.
So here we go. As of today, September 13, 2010, here are the market statistics, broken down into residential waterfront properties and waterfront lots, separately:
Residential Properties
Active on Market
397
Average Price
$317,309
Average Days on Market
209
Solds 1/01/10 - 9/13/10
74
Average List Price
$247,187
Average Sold Price
$226,222
Average Days on Market
236
Solds 1/01/09 - 9/13/09
65
Average List Price
$249,673
Average Sold Price
$226,666
Average Days on Market
220
Lots
Active on Market
323
Average Price
$153,218
Average Days on Market
272
Solds 1/01/10 - 9/13/10
26
Average List Price
$119,675
Average Sold Price
$105,788
Average Days on Market
274
Solds 1/01/09 - 9/13/09
18
Average List Price
$127,216
Average Sold Price
$108,888
Average Days on Market
347
So how does this look overall? We have been having a fairly steady drop in prices for several years, and this year -- although not great -- prices seem to be holding over last year. That should signal the bottom of the dip for Itasca County waterfront properties, so now we just have to wait and see how fast the rebound occurs. Most likely, it will start bringing some people back into the market that were worried about further drops, but it will still be a long process to bring things back close to where they were.
Watch for breakdowns on other counties around the state, as we try to get a handle on where this market is going next.
There is no doubt that the tax credit idea did help spur sales for first time buyers last spring, but the fallout of that is probably still going on. Many of those people would have purchased anyway, and would have evened out the market some over the next several months. Instead, that market came to an abrupt halt once the credits had gone away, and led to headlines in August such as, "Metro-area Home Sales Down 42% Over Last Month."
But our focus continues to be on waterfront properties for the most part. So I am going to start putting out the real numbers -- county by county -- to give you the honest truth.
Today, I am starting with Itasca County, Minnesota, the home of Grand Rapids, Marcell, Bigfork, Coleraine, Deer River, and a few other hamlets. It is also the early home of Judy Garland, who moved away for bigger and better things before she could spend much time out on the lakes. It is a water-filled area where the Mississippi River winds through, and boasts 1007 lakes within its boundaries, according to Mary Shideler -- The Kayak Lady -- who has paddled all of them as of this year, an odyssey she began in 1996.
When you use multiple listing data to look at sales in defined areas, you are always going to have some overlap between various counties. So even though most of these properties are in Itasca County itself, some will be in Koochiching, St. Louis, Cass, and perhaps a couple others that border it. But for the most part, the idea of comparing apples to apples in terms of sales from year to year will remain true.
So here we go. As of today, September 13, 2010, here are the market statistics, broken down into residential waterfront properties and waterfront lots, separately:
Residential Properties
Active on Market
397
Average Price
$317,309
Average Days on Market
209
Solds 1/01/10 - 9/13/10
74
Average List Price
$247,187
Average Sold Price
$226,222
Average Days on Market
236
Solds 1/01/09 - 9/13/09
65
Average List Price
$249,673
Average Sold Price
$226,666
Average Days on Market
220
Lots
Active on Market
323
Average Price
$153,218
Average Days on Market
272
Solds 1/01/10 - 9/13/10
26
Average List Price
$119,675
Average Sold Price
$105,788
Average Days on Market
274
Solds 1/01/09 - 9/13/09
18
Average List Price
$127,216
Average Sold Price
$108,888
Average Days on Market
347
So how does this look overall? We have been having a fairly steady drop in prices for several years, and this year -- although not great -- prices seem to be holding over last year. That should signal the bottom of the dip for Itasca County waterfront properties, so now we just have to wait and see how fast the rebound occurs. Most likely, it will start bringing some people back into the market that were worried about further drops, but it will still be a long process to bring things back close to where they were.
Watch for breakdowns on other counties around the state, as we try to get a handle on where this market is going next.
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