You can still own a little piece of summer in Minnesota!

Thought we were done with summer and heading into fall? Think again!

Check out this fantastic new listing in Eden Prairie. You even get a little piece of summer with this one in the form of an in-ground swimming pool!

Click the pool photo or visit NewmanSellsHomes.com and click on Featured Homes for a virtual tour of this home. Text, email, or call me to set up a private showing.

We will also be holding an open house this Sunday September 27th from 1-3pm.

Where has Newman gone?

Where has Newman gone could mean so many things! Well first of all, I haven't written a blog entry for exactly 49 days. Where did Newman go?

Second, where is Newman physically located? I can't seem to find him in his Chaska office. Where did Newman go?

Third, "why is dad gone all the time?". Where did dad (Newman) go?

If you look below, I wrote a short post about heading on vacation and then fell off the face of the earth. We had a fabulous vacation by the way.

While I was on vacation I received a phone call asking if I would like to take on an opportunity to move from managing the Coldwell Banker Burnet Carver County Office in Chaska to managing the Scott County Regional Office in Shakopee.

After careful consideration I made the decision to grab hold of the reigns of a new office. I returned from vacation on the 29th of July and was in my new office on the 30th. Hence, the lack of visibility on this blog and probably other places as well. Ah, that's where Newman went.

It has been a blast getting to know my new agents and my new office and I am very much looking forward to bringing my thoughts, ideas, and culture to my new office. After more than a month I am settling in and things are starting to feel normal. I am even finding some time on a Friday to write a blog entry!

If you are ever in the area, my new office is off of county 18 and highway 169 in Shakopee. If you are on that corner you can't miss us. Stop in and see me, I would love to show you around.

For all of you regulars to NewmanSellsHomes.com, I am getting ready to announce an exciting change to my website. Look for a new Home Search coming soon. More about that in next weeks post.

Have a very safe and happy Labor Day weekend!

Vacation Time!

Vacation time is here! We are heading out for a good old fashioned family fun time vacation. I am hooking up the boat on Sunday and off we go for a week full of lake activities in the Grand Rapids, MN area.

If you have any real estate needs while I am gone do not hesitate to contact my business partner Jessica Gorres at 612.518.2297 or jjgorres@cbburnet.com

Have a great week!

What is currently happening in the real estate market?

Who says homes aren't selling? I am currently working with buyers who put an offer on a home yesterday that has 3 other offers on it. Here is the interesting part, the home was brand new to the market yesterday!

I thought I would share with you the latest YouTube video update on the Twin Cities market courtesy of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.

Have a great weekend!

Let summer begin...

Summer is already flying and it has only just begun! As you can see by my lack of blogging as of late my real estate business has been a bit busy this spring! That is very fun to say after the real estate market was not that great in 2008. 2009 has come in with a bang so much so that it has been hard to keep up with blogging, tweeting, and Facebooking!

Summer is only about a week old but with the 4^th of July approaching fast it feels like it will be over before we know it. We have already had some fun times this year visiting the Taste of Chaska (see the attached photo of the kids listening to live music) and some not so fun times getting swimmers itch (often referred to as “chiggers”) in one of our 10,000 lakes last weekend. I won't show you the picture of that!

Last night we hosted the 3^rd annual NewmanSellsHomes.com basketball team party at our home. We had a great time and had Famous Dave’s cater the event this year which ended up being a wonderful decision. They delivered the food, plates, napkins, sauces, and even the wet naps. All we had to do was recycle a few aluminum pans.

This last week Jessi and I celebrated our 8^th wedding anniversary and we had a fabulous evening out. We tried a restaurant that was new to us called Biella in downtown Excelsior. The food was fantastic by the way. We ended our evening by heading across the street to enjoy a movie at The Dock cinema. In true romantic style we saw The Proposal.

So what does this all have to do with real estate? Well, as important as the actual home you live in is, your community just may be even that much more important. I encourage you to explore what your area (and surrounding areas) has to offer and take part in the many celebrations and events that are happening throughout the summer. What a great way to get to know more about the many different businesses, services, and programs in the area while spending some quality time with family and friends.

In fact, my open house is just ending so I think it might be time to take down my open house signs, put the boat in a local lake, and explore a little nature. Have a great summer from all of us at Newman’s Neighborhood!

Home sales hot streak continues into spring heat

I haven't given an update on the market recently so I thought I would share with you some great information that came out from the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS:

Minneapolis, Minnesota (May 12, 2009) – April home sales in the Twin Cities were even stronger than March's upswing, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® (MAAR) based on data from the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc.

There were 5,211 pending sales in April, up 23.8 percent from last April. This is the highest showing of signed purchase agreements in April since 2005 and the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year increases.

"Low rates and excellent affordability are what this is all about," said Steve Havig, MAAR President. "Buyers can see for themselves that opportunities are available and the time for action is now."

Of the month's pending sales, 46.0 percent were lender-mediated foreclosures and short sales—down from the last few months as more traditional properties are sold during the spring selling season but up from last year at this time.

The supply of homes for sale continues to experience sluggish growth this spring. There are currently 26,410 homes for sale in the Twin Cities, up 416 units from last month and down 18.4 percent from this time last year. The number of houses for sale for each buyer, as measured by our Supply-Demand Ratio, sits at 5.23 for May—down 28.6 percent from this time last year.

The median sales price for all properties in April of $153,000 is down 25.2 percent from a year ago. While this figure is mathematically correct, it is conceptually flawed. Since a higher share of sales this April were lender-mediated than last April, the number is skewed downward. The median April sales price of traditional homes was $205,000, down 8.5 percent from a year ago. Lender-mediated homes posted an April figure of $120,000, down 21.5 percent from a year ago.

"The overall median price in this market is misleading," said MAAR President-Elect, Brad Fisher. "The traditional and lender-mediated markets don't exist in separate vacuums, but they do include very different kinds of sellers and buyers. It is important to note the distinction."

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Christmas In May

This past Saturday our office had the opportunity to participate in the 13th annual Christmas In May event in Chaska. For the past 13 years the community has come together in the form of volunteers who work together to help make needed repairs on homes where the homeowner does not have the financial or physical ability to complete them on their own.

The repairs can be anything from landscaping to electrical and anything in between. This year between 40-50 volunteers joined together on our project which was just one of 5 projects going on that day in Chaska. Our project consisted of fixing a rotting wooden swing set, removing and replacing edging and rock around the entire home, cutting down tree limbs, and cleaning up a large lilac hedge among other items.

It was amazing to see about 50 people come together on Saturday morning to complete the majority of the work in about 2 1/2 hours. We started out removing old edging and sod, we then dug part of the trench for the new edging, we laid new weed barrier, and finished up by scooping rock into wheel barrows and pushing them around the back side of the home.

The day was extremely rewarding and it felt good to give back to one of the communities that gives us so much. An event like this truly shows what community is really all about. It also was great to use some muscles that do not normally get used throughout the work day!

If you would like more information on volunteering you can call 952.361.5350, if you know of someone who may need assistance with their home they can call 952.448.7715, or if you would like to make a financial or materials contribution you can call 952.556.1317.

Happy Mother's Day!

Contract for Deed: Good for Buyer and Seller!

I attended a contract for deed continuing education class today which made me realize what a great blog topic CD's would be.

You may be asking what a contract for deed is exactly? In short, a contract for deed is a type of seller financing. Buyer and seller would agree on a sale price and would negotiate the rest of the financing terms including the down payment, interest rate, term, etc. The seller would then accept payments directly from the buyer over the course of the agreed upon term in lieu of receiving the entire sale price at closing.

So when would a contract for deed be a good option?

Although interest rates are phenomenal right now and there are great financing options available, there are some situations where a buyer does not qualify for traditional financing. Maybe the buyer has no credit or they had a few bumps in the road but have since shored them up. The buyer could have plenty of cash flow or reserves to purchase a home now but do not start their new job until a later date and because of that do not qualify for a loan right now.

Sellers have a great opportunity to open up their home to an entire new pool of buyers who may not be able to qualify to purchase a home otherwise. A seller may not have plans for the proceeds of the sale of their home and by offering a CD they may see the return on their investment dollars as a far superior one to other investment options they may have for their money. A contract for deed can also provide a seller with monthly income or cash flow while they hold the contract.

A contract for deed can be a creative way to get a buyer and seller who might otherwise not meet get together to form a relationship that might just be made in real estate heaven!

If you have questions on whether a contract for deed may be right for your situation, give me a call or shoot me an email.

Have a great week!

The Skinny is Out!

Every month the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors produces a fantastic (and short) video that gives the latest run down on what is happening in the local real estate market.

The April edition shows some very positive signs for the market. Sales are hopping and interest rates are low! Check out the short 3 minute video:

The April Skinny

Enjoy the 80+ degree weather that is coming our way this week!

Free Video Emails: Try Eyejot.com

If I didn't drive Jessi crazy this evening she at very least thinks I am goofy. Oh wait, she figured out I was goofy a long time ago. I do not yet have a web cam (it will be here on Tuesday!) so I had to use her Mac this evening to record my very first video email. After several practice takes, I finally was successful in recording my very first video email that I will be sending out to the agents in my office tomorrow morning. Look out office here I come!

I stumbled on a free video email service called eyejot.com. Check them out, it is very cool. The system is very easy to use and as I mentioned it is free! The only downfall is that the videos are limited to one minute so for a guy like me who can get a bit windy, I may have trouble keeping my messages to one minute. I guess I can always send out multiple emails!

My primary intention for this new found toy is to use video emails to relay announcements to the 40+ agents in my Carver County Office in Chaska. Who knows, I may also use them every once in a while to relay information to my buyers and sellers.

I sure had fun making my first video so if you want me to send you a sample to see how it works just let me know and I will be happy to create a personalized video just for you.

It sounds like we are going to have a pretty nice week of weather this week. Enjoy the warmth and sunshine and if I don't get another post done at the end of this week have a happy Easter!