As Ham Lake, Minnesota is a community without a hometown water tower, it could be easily overlooked by some traveling through Anoka County along Hwy 65. The approximately 13,000 residents of Ham Lake have always relied on private wells and septic systems, rather than city utilities. This is a plus to Ham Lakers as it helps to keep property taxes in check. Ham Lake is served by four school districts (Anoka Hennepin Dist 11, Forest Lake Dist 831, Centennial Dist 12 and St. Francis Dist 15). The suburb is a quick commute to either downtown via Lexington Avenue or Hwy 65 to 35W. Shopping is minutes away whether you head south to Blaine, East to Forest Lake and Lino Lakes, West to Andover or stay in town to shop at Soderquist's. Ham Lake residents enjoy Minnesota's many natural amenities with places like Coon Lake, Ham Lake and Carlos Avery Nature Preserve, there are many opportunities for outdoor sporting activities. Whether one is looking to hunt, fish, hike, snowmobile or just spend time enjoying natural beauty, Ham Lake offers abundant choices. It is a wonderful place to call home.
With three quarters of 2008 under our belts, some price points in the existing single family home sales in Ham Lake, Minnesota still are struggling but there have been sales and inventory reduction. The overall Days on Market (DOM) statistic has stayed pretty consistent with 210 days as compared to 214 in the first quarter and 217 in the second.
Specifically, homes in the under $300,000 price category show very good activity and at the current pace, we are looking at under a year's worth of inventory. The numbers look similar in the $400,000-$500,000 category. But these numbers can be deceiving. The $300,000-$400,000 category showed great promise at the end of the second quarter with a reasonable 17 months of inventory but with few sales in the past three months, that pace has changed to well over 3 years!
There is a stormy outlook for sales of homes in the half million plus category. Now, three quarters through 2008, with a total of four homes sold, the forecast is grim. The only bright spot for the upper bracket price point is that inventory is down. At the end of June there were 67 active homes priced over half a million in Ham Lake. Today there are only 30 but with only 3 closed transactions this quarter it is apparent that a significant number of homeowners opted to take their listings off of the market. Even with the number of currently listed upper bracket homes cut in half, we are looking at several years before the entire inventory will be sold if sales continue at this snail's pace.
New construction really suffered in the third quarter as only one new home was sold. At the beginning of the quarter there were 18 active new homes. Now that number has been cut in half but only one home sold. It appears that builders could be opting to use alternative sales methods to the MLS as these homes are no longer listed.
The excellent opportunity remains for the move up buyer. If you have a starter home in good condition and well priced, it should sell in a decent time frame. These buyers then have quite a selection of homes to choose from in the higher price categories. After 300+ days on the market, many homeowners and builders are ready to negotiate with a strong, non-contingent buyer!
Mid-Year Ham Lake residential real estate statistics for single family homes:
Under $300,000~ 47 Active Listings, 4 Pending Listings, 16 Sold Listings, DOM 113 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 0 Active, 0 Pending, 0 Sold)
$300,000-400,000 ~ 31 Active Listings, 3 Pending Listings, 2 Sold Listings, DOM 206 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 2 Active, 1 Pending, 0 Sold)
$400,000-500,000 ~ 11 Active Listings, 2 Pending Listings, 5 Sold Listings, DOM 187 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 2 Active, 1 Pending, 0 Sold)
$500,000 and Up~ 30 Active Listings, 1 Pending Listings, 3 Sold Listings, DOM 379 (New Construction Subgroup ~ 5 Active, 1 Pending, 1 Sold)
Lakeshore available in the City of Ham Lake
7 Active Listings
Ham Lake lakeshore price range: $299,900-$945,000
2 Home on Coon Lake
2 Home on Lake Amelia
3 Home on Little Coon Lake
**All Statistical information based on information from the REGIONAL MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE of MINNESOTA, INC. for the period of 7/1/08 through 9/30/08.
Photo Featured Listing in Ham Lake Minnesota: 15139 E Vermillion Circle NE, 55304
Other Anoka and Chisago County Listings:
401 Village Parkway, Circle Pines, MN 55014
25797 Freeport Avenue, Wyoming, MN 55092
Articles on Ham Lake, Lakeshore and Minnesota that might be of interest:
- Where's the Playground? A Key to Parks in Ham Lake Minnesota
- What Makes a House a Home-Ham Lake, MN
- Dreaming of Life on MN Acreage?--What YOU Need to Know Before YOUR Move!
- EXTREMELY Affordable Minnesota Lakeshore!
If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.
Copyright 2008 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/
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