November 2016

In case you haven’t noticed, homes, condos, and other housing options around many of America’s downtowns are in very high demand right now, and that’s been the case for awhile now. According to data from Redfin, the average price per square foot in urban cores across the country has increased by a jaw dropping 76% over the past five years. Compared to the average price per square foot increase of 52% in overall metro areas, that’s quite a leap. 

So just what does this downtown trend mean moving forward? In general, perhaps the best way to look at current market conditions is that more of today’s active home buyers value functionality, walkability, and the idea of living close to plenty of amenities, attractions, and things to do. 

Here in

At a time when the local Minneapolis real estate market slows down a bit for the holiday season, a spike in mortgage rates might also be contributing to what’s usually a letup in market activity. 

In case you missed it, mortgage rates in just about every category increased during the shortened Thanksgiving holiday week, which also comes after a slight jump immediately after the presidential election as well. 

The 10-year Treasure yield increased by 8 basis points, while the 30-year mortgage rate also saw a fairly substantial spike, rising 9 basis points to 4.03%. 

It seems almost hard to believe, but the latest rate increases now mark the first time we’ve seen mortgage rates above 4% since 2015, which has some industry experts wondering if we’ll

Every year, Niche.com, Inc., formerly known as College Prowler, ranks and reviews schools in markets all over the country. From elementary schools and middle schools to high schools and colleges, if you’re looking for information about a school or school district, niche.com certainly isn’t a bad place begin doing a little research. 

To determine their rankings, Niche examines a variety of different categories that include academic achievements, test scores, school facilities, extracurricular activities, sports, and even health and safety. If you do a quick search on the site, it shouldn’t be long before you find the 2016 rankings for Minneapolis-St. Paul’s best elementary schools, which we’ll link here. 

Throughout our experience of working with

New construction is on the rise in the Twin Cities area, as the number of single-family home permits being pulled throughout the region continues to skyrocket. Not long ago, it was reported that 465 new building permits were issued during the month of October, which is up substantially compared to the same month in 2015. Additionally, the month of September also saw a nice bump in permits being pulled compared to a year prior, recording an increase by approximately 24 percent. 

With such a significant boost, however, many are wondering what parts of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Area are seeing the highest gains in new single-family homes, and thanks to data gathered by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, we now have some insight that