First time homebuyers love exploring the opportunities in the White Bear Lake area. There are a good number of options from single family starter homes to townhomes but the best homes do sell quickly. First time homebuyers looking for a White Bear Lake home in 2012 and wanting to take advantage of the low interest rates need to be preapproved for their mortgage. Being ready to write their offer before stepping over the threshold of a potential first home in White Bear Lake is necessary to avoid disappointment.

 

White Bear Lake saw a huge drop in the amount of new homes listed on the market in 2011 compared to 2010 and closed sales shot up by over 22%. In this northern Ramsey County city, inventory is down. Prices didn’t rise though due to the lack of inventory, as the average price of a home sold in the city of White Bear Lake was home sales dropped by 16%. The price per square foot also dropped this past year from $110/sq ft to $98/sq ft. This is still higher than in other parts of the north and east metro area which is good. Most likely the cause of the drop in average sales price is the lack of high end buyers and abundance of short sales/foreclosures. The average days-on-the-market statistic is up substantially in 2011 from 132 days on the market to 173 days to sell on average. Sellers are negotiating a bit more as the percent to original price ratio did decrease by over 2% in 2011. Like last year any homeowner considering a move up in the White Bear area will continue to see opportunities as there is a demand for good starter homes listing and an abundance of higher valued homes to select from.