West Savage Real Estate Blog

Savage Alliance & City of Savage Will Meet to Discuss Workforce Housing on June 9

The coalition to fight the proposed Workforce Housing project is meeting on June 9 to have some serious conversations with the City of Savage to determine where the City is at with the project, and to discuss viable alternatives. 

 

The Alliance would like to see as many West Savage residents at the meeting as possible.  Mayor Janet Williams is also a confirmed attendee.  Below is the agenda for the meeting, being kicked-off by Summit Ponds resident Joel Hillyer. 

 

 

 

 

Northwest Savage Alliance-City Hall Meeting

June 9^th, 2010 7:00pm – 8:00

 

 

AGENDA

 

7:00:  Meeting Kick-Off (Joel Hillyer)

 

· Re-cap current situation as we know it and actions taken by the neighborhood (flier distribution, neighborhood meetings, website, etc)

· Purpose of today’s meeting

 

7:05:  Guest Speaker’s (Mayor Williams, Councilmember Jane Victorey, City Administrator Barry Stock and Senior Planner Brian Tucker)

 

· Historical perspective on the land

· Current Situation (where we are at in the process)

· How the process works (steps required by builder, city, etc)

· Timing of process (zoning change application, builder proposals, etc)

· Benefits of WFH concept? (How does the City benefit? How does the builder benefit? Land Owner?)

· Responses to initial concerns as identified by the neighborhoods

· Question and Answer

 

7:35:  Solutions Discussion (ALL)

 

· What do we (neighborhood) want on this land?

§  Whiteboard discussion on options/brainstorming.  Anything is on the table.

· Are the solutions discussed viable?

 

· Thought Starters:

 

§  Senior Living/Assisted Living (similar to Inver Grove Heights Development

§  Bowling Alley

§  Park/Community Pool

§  Restaurants

§  Gander Mountain/Cabela's

§  Movie Theatre

§  Trader Joe’s

§  Technical College/Satellite campus

§  Change to Zone C-3 for medical/office

 

7:55 Meeting close and next steps (ALL)

 

8:00 Adjourn

 

Coalition in Place to Stop Workforce Housing in West Savage

By Sara Huebener

Earlier, I commented on an article I read in the Savage Pacer regarding Workforce Housing.  The project was stated (in the article I commented on) to be for the purpose of helping working professionals to build equity to transition into homeownership, but it left a lot of unanswered questions.  

At the time, I knew little about the project other than what the article expressly stated.  Then, this weekend I read the Community Voices article by Robert Thibodeaux regarding the issue. 

More recently, articles have expressed the need for affordable housing.  Housing has never been as affordable as it is NOW.   Our marketplace is flooded with homes that are affordable to buyers and renters. 

The neighbors of Ridgewood, Summit Ponds, The Vistas of Summit Ponds and The Pointe have started a coalition to get involved to stop the workforce housing.  Information on the coalition can be found here.   The coalition will be best strengthened by one, unified group.   If you feel strongly on this issue, please get involved NOW. 

Short Sales in West Savage

The following is a slightly modified excerpt from an earlier blog posting on West Savage Blog.  

With the fall in home values since the peak of the market, West Savage is continuing to see short sales hit the market.   Short sales differ greatly from foreclosures.  Foreclosures are bank-owned homes where the bank is the seller and is offering no warranties on the property.  Often times these homes need TLC and are offered at a discount. The list price is one the bank will accept, and like most other sellers’, this price may be open to negotiation. 

Short sales, on the other hand, are properties where the seller still owns (and may or may not reside in) the property.  However, the value of the home is less than the amount owed on the mortgage.   In most cases the seller has stopped making mortgage payments and is anywhere from two to twelve months away from foreclosure.  

 

In short sale situations, the seller’s lender must approve any offer on the property, as the lender takes a financial hit on the loss with approval of the sale.   Lenders will not negotiate a short sale until an offer has been received, hence, the initial list price of a short sale listing is not necessarily a price the bank would be willing to accept.  Rather, it is a price used to generate an offer and begin negotiations. 

 

Once an offer comes in, a two-three month wait for an approval or denial of the offer is normal.  Lenders may attempt to prevent the seller from selling the property by offering discounted mortgage payments for a period of time.   In cases where the seller will not agree to such programs, the bank may deny any offer from a prospective purchaser, which may put the seller in a “pickle”.   Short sales may take anywhere from 2-4 months to complete from the time an offer is received, and are difficult transactions. 

 

A bank will not accept a short sale if the seller cannot demonstrate a serious financial hardship.   In some cases, the seller may be liable for any unpaid debt.   Furthermore, the seller must be late on payments in order for a short sale to be a consideration. 

 

The nature of the short sale transaction continues to vary on an ongoing basis.   There is no rhyme or reason to them.  Much of the process depends on the lender, the number of mortgages taken against the property, the amount of those mortgages, and the date of the sheriff's sale.    They do continue to be complex in nature.

 

Short sale prices are often at, or slightly below market, as the urgency to receive an offer exists.  Pricing discounts need to given consideration, as buying a short sale requires a lengthy waiting time on behalf of the buyer. 

 

Short sales in West Savage are currently found in Oak Hills, Woodhill, and Summit Ponds .   There is one pending short sale in The Pointe.  There are significantly fewer of them this year than there were at this time last year, when nearly every West Savage neighborhood was affected.  

 

Finally, while the traditional seller typically buys and sells in cycles (imagine a camel's hump with the peak being spring/summer), the short sale and foreclosure market is numb to the seasons.    They hit the market all year round, without regard for temperatures or the school year. 

 

We continue to assist sellers with short sales to help them avoid foreclosure, and to help protect property values, as foreclosures drive down home prices and have an adverse impact on everyone who owns a home in the area. 

For a complete list of our homes currently offered for sale, including short sales, click here. 

 

Metrowide Market Activity This Week Mirrored in West Savage

The Southern Twin Cities Association of REALTORS reports:

Fall is officially on in the Twin Cities, but it hasn't slowed the housing market as much as usual. After the school year begins, we typically see a drop in buyer activity, but the 2009 fall market is remaining robust due in large part to the final weeks of the tax credit for first-time home buyers. There were 1,056 pending sales for the week ending September 26, up 41 percent from the same week last year.

 

 

As a direct result, inventory is dropping like a stone. There are approximately 24,500 homes for sale in the 13-county metro area, down more than 20 percent from a year ago.  The October 2009 Supply-Demand Ratio (SDR) comes in at 6.88 houses per buyer, down 22.5 percent from last year. The SDR has shown year-over-year drops of 30 percent or more for the past few months, but we're projecting that the year-over-year decline for October will be smaller because pending sales are likely to be significantly lower if the federal tax credit for first-time buyers is not extended. If the credit goes *poof*, it will remove buyers from the market.

 

 

West Savage is seeing a similar trend.   Buyer activity cooled in the weeks between Labor Day and the initial days of the school year, but activity is starting to pick up again.   Our inventory in West Savage has dropped significantly as well.   For example, there are only 4 homes available for sale in The Pointe, 1 in Hamilton Hills, 2 in all of Summit Pondsincluding The Vistas,and none at all in St. Clair Bluffs.    Many of the sales of homes in our neighborhoods are attributed to the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.  Although first time buyers did not purchase many of the homes in our neighborhood directly (though they did purchase some),  the tax credit provided an increased buyer pool for many lower bracket sellers that subsequently gave them the ability to "buy up".  

"The Skinny" - August 2009

By Chad Huebener

Here is the monthly "skinny" for August 2009 on our metro-area housing market. While not specific to West Savage alone, it provides an excellent summary of the trends we are seeing. Although foreclosures and short sales are continuing to be ever-present, with no end in sight (actually we are predicting another heavy wave of foreclosures coming), the drop in overall inventory, paired with an increase in home sales, gives us a brighter outlook on the market. In terms of West Savage, we are seeing a couple of foreclosures in The Pointe (one is currently pending), as well as short sales in Woodhill (pending bank approval - no sign in yard), Oak Hills (pending bank approval), The Vistas of Summit Ponds (active), and Summit Ponds (pending bank approval). The good news is that these properties ARE moving.

Just Listed in Summit Ponds of West Savage!

***This home is now SOLD***

Just Listed in Summit Ponds of West Savage!

 

Adorable home sits at the end of cul de sac street. This home boasts 4BR on one level, 3 bathrooms, family room with gas fireplace, formal living and dining rooms, and vaulted master suite with whirlpool tub, dual-sink vanity and separate shower. The home offers a 3 car garage, concrete driveway, walkout basement, and fenced backyard. Pride of ownership shines in this home!  Offered at $249,700

View our online flyer for this home at:   http://chuebs07.vflyer.com/home/flyer/home/2530096

Welcome to Savage's SUMMIT PONDS Neighborhood!

  Welcome to... www.WestSavageBlog.com!

Summit Ponds and The Vistas of Summit Ponds are two side-by-side neighborhoods in one!  Each features large, single family homes on spacious lots.  The neighborhoods back up to a protected, heavily wooded wetland area and The Pointe walking trail.  Trails from within both neighborhoods connect to The Pointe trail. 

The Summit Ponds neighborhoods are near to area conveniences such as CUB Foods, Rainbow Foods, Target, hair stylists, and area restaurants.  The neighborhoods have numerous cul de sac lots and iare located in Prior Lake - Savage School District 719. 

Weekly Market Activity Report

Compiled with statistics from the Southern Twin Cities Association of REALTORS....

 

The month's supply of total inventory in the Twin Cities housing market fell slightly to 9.5 months for October, which is 3.9 percent below last October. While the downward year-over-year movement is encouraging, we are still far from a balanced market.

Home values continue to experience downward pressure as lender-mediated foreclosure and short sale properties maintain their relatively strong market share. 

The lower price ranges remain a hotbed for activity. For instance, sales under $120,000 have increased 178.0 percent in the last year, jumping to 5,473 sales during the last twelve months compared to 1,969 during the twelve months prior to that.

The big letdown in home sales that many of us have expected following the recent drops in consumer confidence has yet to materialize in the Twin Cities housing market. For the week ending October 25, there were 602 pending sales, up 17.1 percent over the same week last year. Despite the uncertainties swirling in the general economy, home sales continue to post year-over-year increases every week. Lender-mediated sales continue to grow market share, as 51.1 percent of pending sales for the most recent reporting week were foreclosures or short sales, which should mean continued declines in median sales prices.

New listings for the same week were down 2.0 percent from the same week in 2007, and the total number of active homes for sale is down by 9.2 percent year-over-year.

The updated Supply-Demand Ratio of 10.72 for this week's edition of the MAAR Weekly Market Activity Report incidates that there will be approximately 10.72 houses for every buyer during the month of November. This is down 13.9 percent from November 2007's figure of 12.45.

Welcome!

Welcome to the real estate blog for Chad and Sara Huebener!   As we begin our blog, we invite your questions on the local real estate market.