What's Going On

As you no doubt have heard, the up to $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers has been extended into the spring of next year. In addition current homeowners purchasing a new owner occupied home will be able to take advantage of a new tax credit of $6,500. Is this cool or what!...I think it is. Will this continue the stimulus upsurge or create a backlash later on? I can only hope for the former and that the economy will move in a positive direction at a manageable pace. So bottom line to me, it is great that the opportunity for people to continue to buy homes with this great incentive while it is available. So get out there and take advantage of it! For more information click here.

More Good News In the Twin Cities Real Estate Market

More good news for the Twin Cities from MAAR, the week ending May 16th new listing were down a little over 10% from the same week last year. Will the decline in new listing continue?

In 2008, 50% of the listings sold were between April and August. So buyers get out there and sellers get ready. MAAR is reporting that “Inventory is being sold through at a rate that is still flying high above last year’s numbers”. Pending sales for the week is 36% up over the same week last year. As you probably guessed most of the sales were lender-mediated properties.

So with the decline in new listing and an increase in pending sales brings the supply demand ratio down to 5 homes per buyer…yippee! Okay we are done with the jumping up and down. This good news needs to be tempered as this movement is just starting, let’s see what the next few weeks will bring now that we are beginning our summer season.

It Happend Agian!

Wow! The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors reported this that pending sales are up 28.7 percent over last year and new listings went up compared to last week with 2,055 for the week ending April 4, but still is 11.2 percent behind the same week a last year. Current supply of homes on the market in the region is at a little over 26,000, 17.5 percent below this point last year. Thus moving closer to a balanced with a market absorption rate of 7.7 month's, still a buyer’s market (a balanced market is 4 - 5 months’ supply). Absorption rate is the number of months it will take for the current supply of available properties to become pending/sold. Now you tell me this isn't good news.

Okay Now There Is A thought To Tax Milage

I just read an artcle on the Minnesota Public Radio Web page that our Governor is concidering taxing the miles we drive. I had to take a second look and yes I was reading it right. There would be a device in your vehicle and on the gas pump that would capture your milage and assess the fee at the point of sale. Apperantly Oregon is testing the process along with other states that are also considering the fee. The fee is to account for cars getting better milage thereby reducing tax revenue used for roads. "We realize that in the future, cars aren't going to be powered by fuel, probably ... so we need to think about how we're going to pay for transportation down the road."- Gov. Tim Pawlenty said.

There are other states, Idaho, Texas and Rhode Island considering a milage tax. North Carolina is working on the idea of a quarter cent per mile fee which equales about a nickel a gallon. More information on this subjet at... http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/03/18/mileage_tax/