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minneapolis: March 28th Market Vibe: Edina and Southwest Minneapolis Real Estate - 03/28/12 05:05 PM
I've been touring a ton of homes lately, previewing for clients, and doing the open house thing. It's been awesome to see the quality of homes hitting the market this spring. I think that is the biggest change in the market in Edina and Southwest Minneapolis I've seeing. Really well designed remodels, clean homes, and solid marketing info is more and more common. Kudos to the sellers and Realtors out there today. Two things contributing...fewer bank foreclosures and short sales, and fewer bad Realtors. It's kinda like evolution, the strong have survived and the herd is healthier for it!
Lot's of … (0 comments)
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minneapolis: The State of Real Estate: Edina and Southwest Minneapolis: January 2012 - 02/07/12 01:56 PM
With January under our belt, I'm glad to announce, the Real Estate market in Edina and Southwest Minneapolis is really improving and shows signs of real recovery.
"Recovery" is a work I'm careful about using. For the past 5 or 6 years we've encountered waves of new crises, foreclosure crisis, bank crisis, credit crisis, economic crisis... crushing any recovery at the time. But strong fundamentals continue to fuel a strong Real Estate market in Edina and Southwest Minneapolis.
January has been beautiful in the Twin Cities, maybe it's the weather, or the good employment numbers, or the fact that people simply can't wait … (0 comments)
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minneapolis: I'm back! Spring in here and it's time to talk real estate market in Edina and Minneapolis - 01/06/12 04:09 PM
It's been a while since I wrote but I'm back in the mood as the spring real estate market begins taking hold in the Edina and Minneapolis housing market. As a native Twin Cities guy I am huge fan of winter and took some time off from writing to just enjoy the holidays and the season. The weather has been unseasonably warm, a blessing and a curse, but its time to start talking about the real estate market in Edina and Minneapolis!
During the 'off season' we still succeeded in selling and buying a good number of homes with our home … (0 comments)
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minneapolis: Significant Sale in Southwest New Construction Real Estate Market - 09/11/11 03:57 PM
Here is a significant home sale that just closed. If you are following new construction in St. Louis Park, Southwest Minneapolis, or Edina, this home represents a great value and sets something of a benchmark. This new construction home just sold for $683,000 with with 5 bed, 4 bath and 3,352 total finished sq. ft. (2,288 above ground). It is located St. Louis Park, Browndale Neighborhood, and sits right across the street from Browndale Park. I've toured this home and thought it was a very nice home. It lacks much of the detail found in more expensive homes but, given the … (2 comments)
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minneapolis: Minneapolis Real Estate Market Strengthens All Summer - 08/29/11 12:14 PM
Good news for buyers and sellers in the Minneapolis real estate market. By all indications our local market has been marching toward recovery and general health all summer. "Twin Cities home buyers posted their 14th consecutive week of double-digit, year-over-year gains" according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. http://mplsrealtor.typepad.com/theskinny/2011/08/weekly-market-activity-report-3.html Autum will present the real yeast of this trend. As school starts and the cool weather settles in market activity will decline. We will be looking to see how this off season activity compares to past years'. … (0 comments)
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minneapolis: We Need A Property Manager - 08/03/11 10:18 AM
Does anyone know of a good property management company for a small condominium building? I've been looking for a property manager to take care of our associations day to day business but the big firms don't seem interested and managing a small building and other small buildings it seems are managed by the ownership. Maybe this is an opportunity. Is this niche market that needs filling? Does anyone have a good recommendation for me? Are you a property manager interested in handling the business at our condo association? Please let me know! … (1 comments)
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minneapolis: Positive Trend Continues: April New Listing Activity Down 20% in Edina & 30% in Minneapolis - 05/28/11 11:24 PM
While other metrics such as median home sale prices, time on market, and inventory levels continue to cause concern, the number of new homes hitting the market each month is falling and that's great news for everyone. New listings have been down for a long time, no one wants to sell in a down market if they don't have to. If this pattern continues, eventually inventory levels will normalize.
Here in the Twin Cities we have been dogged by oversupply in the housing market for the past 5 years or more. You can blame which ever crisis you like, the foreclosure … (0 comments)
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minneapolis: Minneapolis and St. Paul Neighborhoods Being Added to MLS - 04/09/11 11:07 AM
In a wonderful upgrade to the local Multiple Listing Service the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors is adding Minneapolis and St. Paul Neighborhoods to its search functionality.
Neighborhood boundaries are more familiar to consumers than the the MLS Areas used by Realtors in the past. Adding them to the core MLS data base, which powers home searches on participating broker websites, improves consumer usability. All current listings are being automatically added to their respective neighborhood for accuracy of searches.
Empowering consumers to search by neighborhood is a long over due and highly celebrated update which is sure to be popular.
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minneapolis: Spring Market in the Twin Cities - Part 6 - 02/08/10 09:12 PM
Pending sales for last week, up 16.4%. Great news as the spring market heats up. New listings are still coming in strong with 1584 home coming on the market last week. As spring continues the number of pending sales will dictate how many of these homes sell, and whether or not the market continues it's march towards balance, health, and/or recovery.
The pains home sellers are feeling notwithstanding, real improvements have been make. The average time homes spend on the market is falling and the percent of list price sellers are receiving is rising. Still prices are down in general. … (0 comments)
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minneapolis: See me on TV! Ben Kolkman on Sweat Equity this Wed. at 7:30 - 02/01/10 12:04 PM
It's time again for another shameless plug. I hate to toot my own horn but who else would do it if I don't?! I'm sure my adoring fans also love these little heads up's so they never miss any of my self aggrandizing moments. HA!
I'm in another Sweat Equity episode this Wed. Feb. 3rd at 7:30 on the DIY Network. This episode deals with a suburban townhouse which the owner wants to spice up, while adding value, of course. With real estate opinions from Ben Kolkman, local real estate guru, and contracting advice from Amy Matthews, show host, the owner … (0 comments)
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minneapolis: Spring Market in the Twin Cities - Part 3 - 01/19/10 08:12 PM
Sales rising as new listings pour onto the market. Spring time in Minneapolis real estate is amazing. I'll update these figures weekly
The number of new listings last week rose 142% from the week prior, while pending sales posted the first weekly increase of the year. Spring is here folks, grab your boots and let go shopping!
This spring's listing activity is stronger than last year's. A significant number of these new listings have been on the market before, so don't be surprised if a few look familiar.
The rise in the number of pending sales … (0 comments)
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minneapolis: Spring Market in the Twin Cities - Part 2 - 01/11/10 01:42 PM
Jan. 11 - Spring Market has started! Listing activity jumped last week, as predicted, with a sizable increase jumping up 54% from 446 new listings to 688. Pending sales stoped falling but have yet to rise, that should happen next week following all the new listings on the market.
** These numbers are for the entire Twin Cities market, and I share them for those interested in the overall market. There is an incredibul amount of variation from area to area, or between price ranges.
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minneapolis: Spring Market in the Twin Cities - 01/07/10 10:37 AM
Twin Cities Metro Weekly Real Estate Activity
Believe it or not, the number of listings & sales is about to sky rocket in the coming weeks. It's amazing to watch. I'll update these figures weekly.
NEW LISTINGS
446 New Listings (as of Jan. 4th - down 49%)
874 New Listing (as of Dec. 28th)
PENDING SALES
392 Pending Sales (as of Jan. 4th - down 26.5%)
533 Pending Sales (as of Dec. 28th)
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minneapolis: ROI on Architectural Design | Home Values and Doing Thing Right - 05/22/09 02:47 PM
Building and remodeling projects usually involve some discussion of value, or the return on investment. One of the often overlooked, and most valuable investments of any project is design. At every step, Architectural, Landscape and Interior Design have great return. Builders employing good design are finding success, even in today’s challenging real estate market.
Everyone wants to save money; do-it-yourself home owners, house flippers, speculative builders, even private remodeling projects, we all look for opportunities to cut costs. Especially in tighter times, we all want to do more with less.
But when success depends on profits, as is the case … (1 comments)
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minneapolis: Bi-Polar Market | Banks vs. Real Sellers | The Value of Convenience - 05/22/09 11:11 AM
Today’s real estate market is Bi-Polar. And there are no drugs to help a mentally ill real estate market; we just have to deal with it.
The two sides, or personalities, to this dysfunctional market; Bank Sales (Foreclosure, and Short Sales) and the good old fashioned Private Seller. The horror stories are common, the Bank refused to negotiate, or took months to respond, closing was delayed. While the prices on Bank homes might look attractive, buying from Banks take lots of patience and a flexible timeline. Private Sellers on the other hand, easy to deal with, willing to negotiate, and generally … (0 comments)
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minneapolis: MidCentury Modern | Home for Sale (non-MLS) | Only Open House This Weekend! - 03/02/09 02:44 PM
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minneapolis: Sound Advice for Today's Buyers - 03/01/09 08:49 AM
In spite of the media's talking points, multiple offers, over list price, and homes sold in just days are not uncommon today. Really it’s true. What!? It can't be true...Yes it is. Not at every price point, but, by and large, for the vast majority of areas and price ranges, the same facts hold true...there are TONS of LOW QUALITY or OVER PRICED homes sitting out there, but a dramatic SHORTAGE of QUALITY HOMES.The result: As really nice homes come on the market buyers who have been stewing, and waiting, and looking, for months all pounce on the good home. Multiple … (0 comments)
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minneapolis: Historic Saint Paul Riverfront Condo | For Sale | Last One of 4 Units - 03/01/09 08:27 AM
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minneapolis: Spectacular Eden Prairie Townhome on Gent Tree Golf Course For Sale - 03/01/09 07:57 AM
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minneapolis: Duluth Hillside New Victorian Home For Sale Minnesota - 03/01/09 07:54 AM
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Ben Kolkman Real Estate Author & REALTOR Southwest Minneapolis & Edina Minnesota
Minneapolis,
MN
More about me…
Results Support Services, Editor, Contributor, Blogger
Address: Minneapolis, MN
Office Phone: (612) 599-4161
Email Me
Ben Kolkman has been recognized by the local association of realtors and by local media as an expert in the Twin Cities real estate market. Ben leads discussion groups on marketing techniques for the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, Young Professionals Networking group. He was awarded the 2009 Super Agent award by Mpls St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business. KSTP and WCCO have both featured Ben in their newscasts, and he is a regular contributor on the DIY Network "Sweat Equity" cable TV program.
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