FROM MSNBC.COM

“We’ve all heard so much bad economic news, many folks are afraid to buy homes. But those in the real estate industry say, this could actually be a great time to buy. 8 thousand dollars. That’s how much the feds are waving in the faces of first time home buyers. It’s part of an incentive to encourage home buying and stimulate the economy.” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29537044/

This tax credit for first time buyers (10% of the homes value up to $8k total credit) is great news for the housing market.  In the Twin Cities / Minneapolis / St. Paul area – there are a ton of first time buyer homes available and now a glut of move-up and upper-bracket homes.  The buyer to purchase these move up homes doesn’t have the equity in their current home anymore AND they can’t get anyone to buy it.  Not any more!  The good first-time-buyer homes are selling!  Selling so fast, ~25% of my homes listed under $150k are selling in multiple offers! Housing is now affordable and this tax credit is icing on the cake!  This will help the mid and upper bracket only a bit…  Many first time sellers cannot compete with bank owned foreclosures and they cannot sell themselves because they are upside-down in their home OR they would walk with such little money, they would have enough down-payment to move up to the 250-400 bracket.  I predict you will see a bottom come to the first time buyer market mid-2009 and mid-to-upper bracket market will return when the economy FULLY recovers which will be 2-5 years out.  2009 is the year to buy real estate.  John Schuster sold over 100 homes in 2008 and he offices out of the Minneapolis Lakes Office of Coldwell Banker Burnet  www.TwinCitiesListed.com612-924-7140.  John Schuster has a full time team of 5 people and loves to work with both buyers and sellers in this market.

http://www.finance-commerce.com/article.cfm/2009/02/28/Foreclosure-relief-on-way-to-21-Minnesota-counties-cities

“Carter was one of many Minnesota politicians – including two mayors and the state housing commissioner – who gathered at the home, on the corner of Sherburne Avenue and Arundel Street, to announce how $38.3 million in federal dollars will be allocated to 21 cities and counties for rehabilitation and redevelopment of foreclosed homes.

The federal dollars, from the Federal Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, were originally announced in September. At that time, the feds announced nearly $58 million in awards to Minnesota. (Of that $58 million, about $19 million has already been distributed collectively to the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and the counties of Hennepin, Dakota and Anoka.)”… from Finance and Commerce 2/27/09 (see link)

Comment by John Schuster – Government money to help to housing crisis?  St. Paul & Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Dakota County and Anoka County need what ever stimulus spark to rev up their housing markets.  A lot of this is a simple supply and demand function – There is an excessive amount of REO Inventory (foreclosures) in the Twin Cities Minnesota area.  That, combined with a tightening credit market – which further reduces the pool of buyers and depresses the prices at which they can purchase – can lead to a downward spiral in a “free market” economy.  Government is the only thing that can fix this thing now.  If we want to have any resemblance of the America we were born into and have grown to love – drastic action needs to be taken.  This government funds noted in this article may be just be a drop in the bucket, but it is a start to correcting our situation.

Worst, No. 4: Minneapolis, Minn.

Index score: 127

Prices were last this low: April 2002

Month-to-month drop: -4.6%

Year-over-year drop: -18.45%

Deceleration rank: No. 20

http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/24/housing-cities-ten-lifestyle-real-estate_home_prices_slide_18.html?thisSpeed=15000

Forbes.com just released data from S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index, released Feb. 24, 2009.

They state that Minneapolis, MN is the #4 worst housing market in their “10 Best And 10 Worst U.S. Housing Markets”.  Although our real estate market has gone through tremendous stresses in the last year, there is no way we should have even made this list.  We have seen values drop 5-50+% depending on which area of Minneapolis you focus on.  The SW Minneapolis and Lakes area have been able to hold their values much better that North Minneapolis, Phillips and Powderhorn neighborhoods.  The silver lining to declining market values is affordable housing.  First time buyers now have the opportunity to own homes that they can actually afford.  If you are thinking of purchasing a home in Minneapolis or St. Paul or in the Twin Cities metropolitain area, now may be the time.  It is very important to find an agent that know foreclosures / REO properties and regulations in Minneapolis, St. Paul or the municipality in which that home resides.