Spring Cleaning Tip

Flexible vacuum: To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

March Contest

Click below to see a list of Dining Out for Life participating restaurants:
http://www.aliveness.org/dol.shtml

Dining Out for Life is a major fundraiser for The Aliveness Project which provides services for people with HIV and AIDS. This fabulous event happens to be coordinated by Shari’s cousin Tim! This year the event will be on April 24th.

Interest Rate Watch

I did not get the rates out on Friday due to being too stinking busy. (There's really no such thing for a real estate agent!) These are rates that I am happy about. I'm not sure if it was the great rates or the great weather - but there was a lot of buyer activity this week-end! As I was doing showings on Saturday it seemed that we saw other buyers and agents everywhere.

Here are those great rates:

Fixed Conventional

30 Year - 5.875%
20 Year - 5.5%
15 Year - 5.125%

FHA/VA Fixed

30 Year FHA - 5.5%
30 Year VA - 5.5%

Market Activity Report

From The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors:

The number of new listings on the market has been relatively small so far in 2008. Over the last eight weeks, there have been roughly 1,200 fewer listings put on the market than during the same eight weeks in 2007—a decline of 6.7 percent. The decline in purchase agreement activity during the same period is on a more extreme decline, however—falling by 17.8 percent for the same time period comparison.

What buyers need to hear about is the significant improvement in affordability. Despite an increase in mortgage rates, the Housing Affordability Index (HAI) shot up dramatically for March to 157, the highest figure in five years! The HAI increased because of a decline in sales prices in February and increased consumer income. The home buying environment has been getting exponentially more attractive with each passing month, which is great news for those waiting on a real estate market rebound.

This week's MAAR Weekly Market Activity Report features updated figures for several important metrics. Days on Market Until Sale held steady at 165 in February, an increase of 12.2 percent from last year. The Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale increased slightly to 91.1 percent, and should continue to rise in the spring months as it does each year.

New Pricing on Interest Rates!

Back down a bit!

Conventional Fixed

30 Year 6.25%
20 year 6.00%
15 Year 5.625%

FHA/VA 30 Year Fixed

FHA - 5.875%
VA - 5.875%

Interest Rates Creep up....

I have been hearing lots of chatter about interest rates creeping up due to inflation worries and today they have gone up a bit. I'm hoping they will go down again - we had a nice run at being under 6% for a while. Here are today's rates:

Fixed Conventional

30 Year - 6.375%
20 Year - 6.25%
15 Year - 5.75%

FHA/VA Fixed

FHA 30 Year - 6.00%
VA 30 year - 6.00%

FHA Raises Loan Limits

Big News! FHA has just announced that it has raised it's loan limits. For a single family home in Hennepin County, the new limit is $365,000. Click here to check other counties and to find out the limits for multi-family houses. FHA has become our new best friend for friendly lending options! It is easier to qualify for FHA than conventional and you can often have a smaller down payment with FHA loans. Feel free to contact us if you want more information!

South Minneapolis Housing Fair this Saturday

The 14th Annual South Minneapolis Housing and Home Improvement Fair is scheduled for this Saturday, March 8th at South High School. The Fair promotes city living, home improvement and maintenance and community involvement. The Fair will feature vendor exhibits and educational seminars geared towards current and prospective homeowners in the process of improving, maintaining, enlarging, purchasing or refinancing a home.

This event is free and open to the public from 10-3.

For additional details and schedule of events visit www.housingfair.org

Interest Rate Watch

Interest rates inched down a bit.... FHA is gaining more popularity in the current real estate and mortgage market conditions - the rate of 5.5% sure doesn't hurt!

Conventional Fixed

30 Year - 5.875%
20 Year - 5.875%
15 Year - 5.125%

FHA/VA Fixed

FHA 30 Year - 5.5%'
VA 30 Year - 5.5%