Feel The VIBE

With the holiday season in full swing we encourage everyone to take a break, reflect, and set aside some time or resources to give back to your community. To make it a bit easier, we’ve gathered a list of upcoming opportunities and resources to help around the Twin Cities!

GiveMN. A hub that allows you to search through thousands of nonprofits statewide. You can search by cause, location, and who the organizations serve.

Hands on Twin Cities. A website that allows you to search and connect with local volunteer opportunities and nonprofits. It’s a pretty neat site where you can view all the upcoming events on a calendar, see ongoing opportunities, and also lets you search by multiple factors like COVID relief opportunities, pro-bono and skills…

Written by VIBE Owner/Broker Steve Anderson Well, here we are at the end of another crazy year in real estate. 2021 has been like riding a roller coaster where the safety harness is just a little too loose, and while it wasn't the worst ride we've ever been on, we're still ready to get off this thing. So, how did it shake out with the numbers? Some went as expected, but there's a surprise twist at the end, so stay tuned.  What didn't surprise us? Well, the sale prices. They didn't change much - in fact, they hardly changed at all. The Average Sales Price came down less that two thousand dollars to $392k, which is the same as it was in September. And the Median Sales Price dipped to $338k, again, only down about two thousand…

This month our neighborhood spotlight is focusing on an entirely new neighborhood that is being constructed in Saint Paul! The Highland Bridge project spans over 100 acres just south of Highland Park, in the area that was formerly home to Ford Motor Company’s Twin Cities assembly plant.

With construction well underway, you can head to their website to really dig into all the planning, their project partners, and an interactive aerial map of the area: highlandbridge.com/explore.

Highland Bridge will consist of a multitude of structures and properties, from condos, custom homes, affordable housing (a minimum of 20% of properties will be affordable housing), senior living, and rowhomes, people will have access to a variety of residential options if…

The past few years have been hard, in so many ways, and as 2021 starts coming to a close we would like to take the time to give thanks to everyone that has worked with or alongside VIBE over these unprecedented times.

 

Agents.

We wouldn’t be anywhere without the agents that choose to call VIBE home. We have such an incredible group of people that are making a difference in the real estate industry, and we couldn’t be more proud of every single agent that is on-board here at VIBE. With the market being so extremely competitive, especially over this past year, we got to witness first hand how hard VIBE agents worked to get their clients into homes, and it wasn’t easy.

Clients.

Pandemic aside, this year was tough for people buying and…

Ahhhh, winter. The snow starts falling, the temperatures drop, and maybe you’re wondering what all of that means for the real estate market.

I know we are all interested to see how this winter market unfolds, coming off of one of the most aggressive and competitive real estate years in history. Traditionally, the winter is a slower season in real estate. Fewer homes go up for sale, and fewer people are out shopping for new houses. The winter season does have its own benefits though - for both buyers and sellers!

Winter Buying Benefits

Less competition against other buyers. One of the biggest benefits for buyers is that there is much less competition. Because the market has been so intense and competitive over the past year, the winter could…

In general, inventory has been low and prices have increased since the summer of 2020. So, after a very interesting September where we saw many important metrics take a dip, we were anxiously awaiting the results for October's recap to see which direction we were going. Read on to see what the beginning of winter can tell us about how this crazy year will wrap up. 

Let's start by talking price point. The Average Home Price in the Twin Cities had gone up every month in 2021, reaching the highest we've ever seen on record at just over $413k. That is until September, where it tumbled by almost twenty thousand dollars, leaving us wondering if that was the new direction we were heading or just an outlier. Well, Octobers Average Sale Price turned around and…

Halloween is right around the corner, so it’s only fitting we share some of Saint Paul’s most notorious haunted houses. Join us as we take a brief dive into the history of the home, share what entities are believed to haunt the home present-day, while also telling the stories of how these spirits moved from this world to the next.

Griggs Mansion

Located at 476 Summit Avenue, the Griggs mansion is rumored to be one of Saint Paul’s most haunted homes. The mansion was built in 1883 by Chauncey and Martha Griggs. Chauncey was a local, wealthy wholesale grocery businessman. Records show there are about six different entities that roam the halls of the home, with some being identified as previous workers on the property, while the other entities remain…

Perhaps one of the most known neighborhoods in Saint Paul (are we too bold to say in the Twin Cities?) Summit Hill is a truly classic neighborhood famous for its regal Summit Avenue, a boulevard boasting the best preserved collection of Victorian mansions in the country, yes, country. With such historical and impressive mansions, are we wrong to assume that some might even be...haunted? (Check out the Summit Ave Haunted Walking Tour section below.) From the opulent Governor's Residence to the prior home of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Summit Hill is a prized jewel. Just one block over, you’ll find miles of great shops and local restaurants lining Grand Avenue. We’ve noted a few worth checking out below.

Summit Ave Haunted Walking Tours in October

Feeling…

Fall is in full swing in the Midwest and that means our cold, snowy months are fast approaching! This also means that the slower months of the real estate market are creeping up on us. However, there is still time to list your home this fall! In fact, we like to call this time of year the “last call for fall” window, where there is still time to showcase your home’s full potential without having to deal with the extreme weather and slower market that the winter brings. 

Plus, listing your home in the fall has some other great benefits you just don’t get all year round.

First and foremost, the weather is optimal and it makes for easier lawn maintenance and curb appeal. Aside from raking leaves and cleaning gutters, there isn’t a whole lot of…

Oh the times, they are a changin'

We won't lie, it has been a bit challenging to predict the real estate swings throughout this year. An interesting mix of increasing values across the board, combined with the Minnesota seasonal trends have left us always wondering how the next month is going to turn out. September was no different, and perhaps a bit telling of how the rest of the year will turn out. Shall we dig in?

Most notably, let's start with sale prices. Now, we've known that the increases in average and median price points were unsustainable, but what we didn't know is how fast they would take a dip. Last month, the Average Sale Price went down by its largest margin for the whole year, dropping by over $22k, and landing at $391k - wowza. The Median…