This has been a long, cold, dark winter for us in Iowa and in the Midwest.  Spring and the warmth it brings is still about a month behind on temperatures but birds are chirping, some farmers are trying to get out into the fields and I am seeing some shoots on my roses - a sure sign warmer weather is on the way. 

Many changes have happened in the real estate industry, in our country and for us here in the northern Midwest it seemed like the changes have been a little more negative because of the long bitter cold winter.  Hopefully, we will see some positive changes with the warmer weather.  We are beginning to list more properties, and more buyers are venturing out to see homes but it is much harder to get qualified for a loan that last spring.  It will continue to get even harder for a while, until some of the foreclosure problems are resolved.  In our area we don't have the number of foreclosures many areas have, I am very thankful for that.  A recent CRS class in Minneapolis showed the huge impact foreclosures are having there - many, many for sale signs.

For an investor this is an awesome time, in an area like Minneapolis or one experiencing a high foreclosure rate. Many Realtors are very capable of helping investors complete short sales with financial institutions.  The properties can be fixed up if needed, rented and held until the market rebounds.  One Realtor I know in an area with high foreclosures is doing just that, making lemonade!