REAL HOPE
There are a lot of homes on the market in area, but many are selling
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Brainerd sellers fared fairly well in the last six months of 2007. Sixty-eight percent of the sellers in Brainerd sold their house in that six-month time period. There were 145 homes in Brainerd entered into the Multiple Listing Service during that time and 98 homes sold.
Kevin Goedker, president of the MLS of the Greater Lakes Association of Realtors and of Edina Realty, said homes on this MLS, which consists of 17 central Minnesota counties, including Crow Wing, Cass, Morrison, Todd and Wadena, are selling. However, there are so many homes flooding the market that there are still plenty of homes that need to be sold.
Goedker said there were 6,779 new listings in 2006 and 6,902 in 2007. Of these new listings, 2,730 homes were sold in 2006 and 2,281 homes were sold last year. This week there are 3,453 current listings.
Karin Nelson of Edina Realty in Brainerd recently pulled a for sale sign down in Baxter after a home sold.» Purchase reprints of this photo.
Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
The average number of days a home sat on the market before it was sold was 140 in 2006 and 147 in 2007. However, these numbers can be deceiving, Goedker said. He said there are homeowners who change real estate agents or offices and their home is then considered new on the market again.
For instance, a home in Crow Wing County priced at about $240,000 has been on the market for 922 days, but the number of market days shows less because the homeowner changed agents.
The average sale price of a home was $218,245 in 2006 and up to $224,760 in 2007.
In 2006, the homeowner received 94.1 percent of his or her asking price. In 2007, 91.9 percent of the asking price was paid.
"People are taking less for their home," Goedker said. "But each property is unique and the price range depends on the property. In a lot of cases where people are taking less they are negotiating and want to sell fast."
Kevin Goedker, president of the Multiple Listing Service of the Greater Lakes Association of Realtors and of Edina Realty, recently talked about how the housing market changed in 2007.» Purchase reprints of this photo.
Brainerd Dispatch/Jennifer Stockinger
Goedker said property values in Crow Wing County have increased and the lakeshore properties are moving well regardless of what the GLAR data shows.
In the county, there were 291 lakeshore properties sold in 2006 with an average price of $446,269 and 264 homes sold in 2007 with an average price of $508,487. In Cass County, there were 230 lakeshore properties sold in 2006 with an average price of $428,560 and 172 sold in 2007 with an average price of $398,107.
Goedker said homes priced under $100,000 sold well in 2007.
Goedker said a 2007 trend was that there were more first-time homebuyers. According to the National Association of Realtors, there was a 36 percent increase in 2006 in first-time homebuyers and 39 percent increase in 2007.
Goedker said he has had more closings this year compared to last year at this time. The appraisers also are seeing an increase in work.
"The interest rates are low and there is a lot of inventory of homes to look at," Goedker said. "It's a great time to buy.
"As we see real estate and other things start picking up and people begin to feel more comfortable with the economy, we should expect values on our homes to increase."
Linda Christianson, GLAR president and of Edina Realty in Brainerd, said the housing market is good. She said there are good choices, fantastic rates and the area is fortunate because property values are still holding up.
"For many years, things were going fast and home prices were increasing rapidly," Christianson said. "Now it's more of a stable market. It's a good investment for people to invest in homes for both the long term and if the right short-term investment comes along."
In 2007, Christianson said there was a wide variety of sales in all property categories as buyers found what they wanted, and there were no significant trends.
Christianson said that, on average, sales in 2007 were slightly lower-priced than in 2006. Christianson said sellers who did take less money were motivated by various factors, such as job or family changes, and they chose to negotiate and move on.
Christianson said once the weather warms up this year, houses will begin to move again.
"People today are taking more time before they buy a house to make sure they get the right house," Christianson said. "They're being more conscientious, looking more thoroughly and are being more of an informed, educated buyer."
Jeff Torfin of Positive Realty in Baxter said 2007 was not a bad year for housing in the Brainerd lakes area. Torfin said homes were selling, it just didn't look like it because the inventory of homes is so large.
Torfin said that in 2005-06, sellers priced their homes too high because there wasn't a lot of inventory, and they sold. Now homes need to be priced right in order to sell, Torfin said.
When comparing this past January with January of 2007, Torfin said the number of homes being put on the market is down 24 percent.
"This will help the housing market," Torfin said. "The properties will be absorbed."
Torfin said the local banks and lenders are cutting back on spec (built on speculation) home building loans, so the amount of new spec homes coming on the market decreased this year.
Torfin agreed with Goedker on the 2007 trend with first-time homebuyers. This resulted in sellers, who sold their under-$100,000 home, buying a more expensive home, which helped the housing market, Torfin said. He said homes in Baxter and Brainerd sold well in 2007, but homes valued at more than $300,000 didn't because there was an oversupply.
Torfin said the higher-end properties on Gull Lake and the Whitefish Chain also sold well.
Torfin said that, so far this year, 87 properties sold and another 157 properties are pending to close.
Holly Connaker, Help-U-Sell Pioneer Realty in Brainerd, said that "In 2007, we saw dramatic increases in sales for our office. However, in the Brainerd lakes area, overall transactions were down slightly from 2006. If you compare the Brainerd lakes area real estate market to the Twin Cities, we are much healthier. As a community, we need to remember that real estate is local and we aren't experiencing the extremes that the large metropolitan areas have."
Mid-Minnesota Builders Association president John Jacklitch Jr. of J.P. Jacklitch Contracting Inc., Motley, said building was mixed in 2007.
"A lot had to do with what type of projects they were doing or where they're located," Jacklitch said. "There were builders who had to adjust. Builders were going out of business for different reasons, some were because of the economy, or because they didn't know how to do business, and there were those who got into the industry when it was doing so well, and now that it's not, they're getting out."
Jacklitch said the strongest segments in construction are lake homes, commercial business and remodeling projects.
"We're fortunate in this area because we have so many different types of homes here," Jacklitch said. "The other areas in the state are feeling a hit because they don't have the lake homes."
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.
Sold non-waterfront in 2006
Area Sold Ave. sale price Days on market
Crow Wing Co. 749 $161,304 131
Brainerd 220 $129,614 109
Baxter 122 $191,984 116
Cass Co. 239 $142,675 135
Sold waterfront in 2006
Area Sold Ave. sale price Days on market
Crow Wing Co. 291 $446,269 145
Brainerd 4 $283,750 172
Baxter 13 $274,159 121
Cass Co. 230 $428,560 127
Sold non-waterfront in 2007
Area Sold Ave. sale price Days on market
Crow Wing Co. 629 $150,974 146
Brainerd 205 $114,523 120
Baxter 106 $181,497 149
Cass Co. 184 $148,033 144
Sold waterfront in 2007
Area Sold Ave. sale price Days on market
Crow Wing Co. 264 $508,487 153
Brainerd 5 $186,500 165
Baxter 5 $200,554 137
Cass Co. 172 $398,107 156
Housing in 2006
Area New listings Sold Ave. sale price Days on market
Aitkin Co. 427 156 $205,936 136
Crow Wing 1,832 710 $278,280 141
Baxter 332 126 $200,953 122
Brainerd 429 234 $133,304 116
Cass Co. 1,359 517 $283,345 136
Morrison Co. 521 264 $144,624 142
Todd Co. 190 87 $115,343 149
Wadena Co. 209 73 $110,809 141
Total MLS 6,779 2,730 $218,245 140
Housing in 2007
Area New listings Sold Ave. sale price Days on market
Aitkin Co. 390 131 $216,261 145
Crow Wing Co. 1,913 614 $331,188 154
Baxter 345 101 $195,117 125
Brainerd 462 219 $120,748 117
Cass Co. 1,385 407 $254,623 154
Morrison Co. 599 229 $158,752 137
Todd Co. 180 63 $104,471 143
Wadena Co. 172 74 $122,103 175
Total MLS 6,902 2,281 $224,760 147
- Source: Greater Lakes Association of Realtors