According to Money Magazine measuring the last quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, roughly 700,000 fewer homeowners are underwater or up-side-down in their mortgages! Underwater meaning that they owe more than their home is worth. This is great news! A person who is up-side-down in their mortgage can become a short sale or a foreclosure. In my opinion, the market is on the mend… Our office at Re/Max Advantage Plus has seen a large reduction in numbers of foreclosure and short sales. Yes, they are still there, but they are much fewer in numbers.

As an experienced Lake Minnetonka Realtor, inventory on Lake Minnetonka is actually down right now. There are more than 10% fewer homes for sale but all those buyers are still out there looking… I did an open house in the upper $500’s range and had 9 tours thru the open house.

I recently showed homes in Plymouth and Maple Grove and we were pressed to find a nice $300,000 to $400,000 home that was not near a major highway or on a busy road! And homes in the $150,000 to $200,000 are getting bought up by first-time buyers. I think the buying public realizes that we may have “hit the bottom” and it is a great time to buy!

A very successful business man, and super client of mine, once told me that when the press tells you the market is better it really happened 6 to 9 months ago.  History shows that.

Well, I am telling you now, before the press releases, the market is better! Lock in these mortgage rates and these prices? Looking back 5 months… April thru August 2012, the median home sale was up anywhere from 10 to 13 percent. Real numbers, real positive numbers!

Good luck out there!

Tim