Greg and Beth Hostetter - Rochester Minnesota's Blog

I love my good ole tablet!

Greg and Beth Hostetter - Rochester Minnesota (REMAX of Rochester) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:14:53 -0700

It's been two years that I've owned my trusty iPad; you'll find it with me nearly 100% of the time I'm at work. It's great for all sorts of tasks and helps me look techie and up to date. I find that it also gets in my way at times, so I'm making a change.

Let me introduce you to my good ole legal pad. Before I get strung up for being old fashioned and out of the times, let me explain. I loved my Keynote presentation for CMA's, as it was so pretty, professional, and consistant. Unfortunately, it was also the same presentation for every client. Clients want us to be techie, but they also want us to be human. My iPad was a physical object that stood between my client and me. It felt like a 9" wall that interferred with conversation and relationship.

So, I made the decision to dust off my yellow pads and do all of my CMA's with them on the table. I can easily take notes and make sketches while easily carrying on a converstaion with my client. If I need something techie, I've got the iPad with me, but it's my yellow note pad that's front and center, and we're both loving it! BTW, my clients are happier too, as my listing rate has increased since going back to yellow!

Rochester Minnesota Market Forecast for 2013

Greg and Beth Hostetter - Rochester Minnesota (REMAX of Rochester) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:18:26 -0800

Three Signs of Rochester Real Estate Recovery Continuing in 2013

1) Smaller number of homes for sale. As of today, 1/4/2013, there are 478* homes for sale in Rochester. At this time in 2012, there were 617 homes for sale. At the first of January 2011, the number was 810!

2) More homes currently have offers on them. As of today, 1/4/2013, there are 165 homes in Rochester with accepted offers, waiting to close. The same time of year in 2012 it was 135, and in 2011 it was just 82.

3) Homes are 25% selling faster than they did in 2011. In 2012, the average home was on the market for 103 days before getting an offer. In 2011, it was an average of 139 days.

What’s the Rochester market going to do in 2013?

Buyer Activity: Home buyers were very actively buying homes in December and we expect there to be lots of buying activity during January and February and into spring. With the number of homes getting two or even three offers, we expect homes that are priced and prepared correctly, will sell very well.

Home Values for 2013: Even though buyers are enthusiastic about buying, they don’t seem willing to allow prices to increase. Beth and I expect local home values to rise minimally for 2013, perhaps 2-3%. This is historically good appreciation.

How should you react to the Rochester real estate market in 2013?

Buyers are shopping for homes right now, they’re not waiting for spring. The combination of buyers wanting to buy, along with the smaller number of homes on the market makes now an excellent time to put a home on the market. If you have a friend or co-worker who is considering a move in 2013, now is a great time. If I was considering selling, I would put a For Sale sign in my yard today!

Learn the secrets of selling a home

Greg and Beth Hostetter - Rochester Minnesota (REMAX of Rochester) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 08:34:35 -0800

Want to learn the secrets of selling a home? Tonight at 7:pm we'll be teaching the fourth in our series of four real estate classes this fall with Rochester Community Education "Getting Your Home Sold in a Challenging Market". This next class will be focusing on going beyond staging to learn the strategies and techniques that really get houses sold. Discover how buyers truly select the home they buy and learn how to uses these strategies to make your home appeal to more buyers so it sells faster. Hear what buyers say they really want in a house and in negotiations so you can maximize your profit when selling. Join us for a fun, educational evening and get all of your questions answered.

Tuesday December 4th from 7:pm-8:30 at the Northrup Education Center 201 8th Street NW in Rochester, room #109.

My idea of a perfect Sunday off

Greg and Beth Hostetter - Rochester Minnesota (REMAX of Rochester) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 16:20:27 -0700

Sunday has typically been a day off for my wife and I. Today was no different. What do we mean by a day off?

A day off is when we don't schedule and appointments or todos. Today my wife and her dog competed in a canine agility trial till 2:pm. Then we worked in our woods clearing some trees and burning some brush, now we're preparing a delicious grilled chicken dinner. What else did we do today?

Along the way today, I got back to an internet buyer who had a question on a property for sale. I forwarded an amendment that my buyer finally got around to esigning today. And I replied to a couple of emails for feedback. While some may consider this work, I consider it gently helping my clients whilein jeans and t-shirt.

This is my idea of a great day off - very light work with no real obligations. Tomorrow I'll go back to work refreshed and ready to start a great week helping people buy and sell homes in the fabulous city of Rochester MN.

I love my life!