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The 200 – Twin Cities Area Housing Stats!

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I came across this article in Realtormag.realtor.org. Interesting stuff!! 

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae recently offered some predictions of what the housing market’s “normal” will look like in the next two years. 

In its report, “Transition to ‘Normal’?”, Fannie says while the housing market has shown improvement, uncertainty remains over both the economy and the real estate market.

“Our forecast is that 2013 and 2014 will exhibit below-potential economic growth,” according to the white paper. “This is despite the fact that we expect the housing rebound will continue and that the economy will benefit from the gradual increased growth of U.S.-based manufacturing, as well as the expansion of domestic energy production.”

The following are some of the projections Fannie made in its report: 

Mortgage rates to stay low: Fannie Mae expects mortgage rates to remain low over the next few years. The mortgage giant expects rates will increase to no more than 4.2 percent by the end of 2014.

FHA loans may get more expensive: More costs may be assigned to Federal Housing Administration loans.

Refinancing drops: The boom in refinancing may have peaked last year with slower activity projected this year. “We expect 2012 to be seen as the high watermark for refinances and 2013 as the first of several transition years as the housing finance market transitions back to a more normal balance between purchase and refinance activity.”

Foreclosures continue to fall: Fannie expects foreclosures to continue to decline from their peaks as more alternatives to foreclosure are pursued.

Housing starts to rise: Fannie Mae predicts that housing starts will increase 23 percent in 2013 — which would be 60 percent more than the record low in 2010. Fannie expects housing starts won’t reach sustainable levels until 2016.

Mortgage originations grow: ”Given our expectations of continued improvement in housing starts, home sales, and home prices in 2013,” Fannie Mae writes, “we project that purchase mortgage originations will rise to $642 billion from a forecast of $518 billion in 2012.”

Source: “‘Normal’ Housing Market May Not be What it Used to Be,” Realty Times (Jan. 30, 2013)

Full Details

http://www.twincitiesrealestateforsale.com/listing/mlsid/152/propertyid/4311859/syndicated/1/cgltguid/236A3151-37CE-4CC4-925A-CE02A6DB1830/?ts=crg

Listing Courtesy of Rochelle Allison, Keller Williams Premier Realty

At the top of many holiday gift lists each year is a new puppy, kitten or furry friend. One great way to celebrate the holidays is to help an animal in need. Pet adoption is affordable and will have an incredible impact on your family.

If you are thinking of adopting a pet during the holiday, animal shelters are a fantastic option. Before you adopt a pet, please remember that adopting and caring for a companion animal goes far beyond providing food, water and shelter – it is a lifelong commitment to provide exercise, healthy nourishment, attention, and, most importantly, love.

To read more on this please see Pets Are Inn Blog 

Link: http://petsareinn.blogspot.com/2012/12/responsible-pet-adoption-during-holidays.html 

They do a terrific job of caring for your furry family!

Happy Holidays!

The “Extenders”, a group of short-term tax benefits that have been extended regularly for more than 20 years, expired Dec. 31, 2011. They included many tax deductions and some smaller credits such as the state and local sales tax deduction, and mortgage insurance premium deduction, the up-to $250 Educator Expense deduction for teachers, the up-to $500 energy credit for energy efficient home improvements, and the up to $4,000 tuition and fees deduction.

The AMT “Patch” expired Dec. 31, 2011. Up to 31 million taxpayers will be subject to either the additional tax or will see their tax credits reduced by the AMT rules.

The Bush-era tax cuts are due to expire on Dec. 31, 2012. Tax rates will go up beginning with a five percent increase, from 10 percent to 15 percent on the first $8,500 of taxable income. In addition to the loss of the 10 percent tax rate, the 25 percent tax rate also expires and capital gain tax rates increase.

Bush-era tax cuts from 2001 and 2003 are scheduled to expire. These tax cuts include reducing many credits, such as the child tax credits, the credit for child care, and the earned income credit. Additional tax cuts scheduled to expire also include the married taxpayer’s standard deduction, tax rate spread, and maximum income limits for many tax benefits. The expiring credits will also limit the student loan interest deduction.

Temporary tax cuts from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009 expired. This includes the exclusion of the debt forgiven when a main home is foreclosed forcing many taxpayers whose foreclosure won’t be final until 2013, or later, to pay taxes on the forgiven mortgage debt.

With tax rates increasing, tax deductions being eliminated or limited, and credits dramatically reduced, taxpayers will see a much smaller refund than in the past years. The Temporary Payroll Tax Holiday, a two percent reduction in employee Social Security tax withholding, expired Dec. 31, 2012. Beginning Jan. 2013, the average taxpayer will see as much as a $1,000 decrease in take-home pay. If Congress is unable to reach a decision before the end of year or into next year, income tax filing and refunds could be delayed for some taxpayers.

With Congress deadlocked over the federal budget, we are in danger of falling off the fiscal cliff. Lack of agreement on the budget could lead to possible layoffs of government employees. This could potentially reduce the number of employees at the IRS who ensure technology and services continue to run smoothly during tax season, as well as the number of employees available to help the public with tax questions and issues.

An automatic budget reduction of around 8.2 percent for each government division will lead to reduced government services, gradually impacting the work done by these departments. The Health Care Act starts impacting more taxpayers with an increase to 10 percent for the medical deduction floor. Taxpayers will pay an additional .09 percent Medicare taxes on wages greater than $200,000 ($250,000 if married filing jointly) and will pay 3.8 percent additional Medicare taxes on investment earnings greater than $200,000 ($250,000) starting Jan. 1, 2013.

These and many other changes may impact you if we fall off the fiscal cliff in the coming days. Also keep in mind that these changes noted above are already law and are in place, so if the government does nothing to amend these laws, what I’ve described is what’s known as the fiscal cliff. A fix, patch or new legislation is what is needed to prevent going over the cliff. It’s important to understand that this is not something that impacts only the rich or the high-income wage earners. It impacts many more and very likely you.

- Mark Steber – Huffington Post

Fantastic newer construction home on a large lot! Gleaming hardwood floors, decorative finishes, custom cabinetry, high-end finishes, 3 bedrooms on one level, huge living room area, gorgeous kitchen! There is even a 3 car garage – rare for this area. This home is ready and waiting for you to move right in!

5) Old Mounds Park Hospital, St. Paul: The Haunted Morgue

What used to be Old Mounds Park Hospital that closed in the 1970s has now reopened as The Marian Center, a nursing home. Back when the the building was a hospital, a security officer stepped out of the elevator into the basement on his way to the morgue and was shot, murdered. This elevator is said to be extremely haunted. No matter what floor one pushes, the elevator will always go down to the basement, open and close, and then proceed to the floor that coordinates with the button pushed. The employee lounge in the basement is said to house a wide variety of strange noises that are so strange that the employee brake room is no longer used. The tunnel that runs from the basement to the nurse’s dormitory is barely ever used, because of the strange noises and the electricity shutting on and off. Could the haunting be due to both the murder and the presence of an Indian burial ground across the street? No one will ever know for sure.

4) Forepaugh’s Restaurant, St. Paul: A Steamy Love Affair

You look skeptical. After all, it is just a restaurant right? Actually no, there is more to it than just a restaurant. The restaurant itself is named after the original owner of the Victorian mansion where this restaurant is located. The haunting is all about the owner Joseph Forepaugh. Forepaugh was a wealthy dry goods man who was able to spend some of his money on some good servants for the household. Unfortunately he fell in love with Molly and they started quite the little love affair. All went well until Mrs. Forepaugh discovered them in the act. Mr. Forepaugh immediately quit the affair although the jilted and very pregnant Molly didn’t agree. Molly went to the third floor, slipped a noose around her neck from a nearby lighting fixture and threw herself out the third story window. Mr. Forepaugh eventually went to the railroad tracks and shot himself from deep depression. Both Molly and Mr. Joseph Forepaugh are said to haunt the mansion. Molly’s spot of interest is the place from which she threw herself out the window. Mr. Forepaugh seems to be haunting the actual dining room. They have been reported making strange noises, and their apparitions have been seen constantly.

3) The Jenson House, Albert Lea: The Southwest Bedroom

Almost immediately after the construction of this house by the owner James Jenson in 1893, a strange apparition was seen in the southwest bedroom. He reported the feeling of someone watching him when he looked over his shoulder. It wasn’t just him though. The whole household was terrified of that room and it stayed empty for the fifty-three years they lived there. The farmhouse is located on a hill, where a log cabin that was built in 1862 used to be. There are stories, but nothing extremely substantial, about Jenson’s grandmother dying there. This could be a reason for the haunting if it is true. In 1964 Dick and Anita Borland moved into the house with their nine children and begun the renovations of the very deteriorated farmhouse. When the first arrived at the house they were cleaning up the yard and when they looked up they saw the ghost of woman in the southwest bedroom window. The girls reported seeing a tall, thin woman in a flowery apron on in the upstairs hallway. She then said “Help me! Help me!” The children ran and told their mother who did not believe it until she saw the ghost for herself in the southwest bedroom. There is a bonus ghost on the bottom floor. She is described as a sweet elderly lady and has been seen in the pantry many times.

2) The Lakeview Cemetery, Buhl: The Visual Spirits

This is an exciting place for apparitions, strange noises, and odors not of this world. The Northern Minnesota Paranormal Investigators (among many investigators) have confirmed these strange occurrences. Burials in this cemetery begun in 1913. The nearby Shaw Hospital was said to use the Potter Field (next to the main cemetery) as a burial spot for the patients that died there. What is different about this cemetery is that many of the supernatural occurrences have been recorded on tape. In 2003 a man recorded things swaying violently although there was no wind, EVP recordings have taped many a restless spirit, and a man dressed in 1920s clothing has been recorded and watched walking among the gravestones. The ability to catch these apparitions on tape have made this a very popular paranormal investigation spot.

1) The Griggs Mansion, St. Paul: Fear Lives Here

Chauncey W. Griggs was a wholesale grocery tycoon who built this mansion in 1883. It is very strange that he would build this house with such a creepy and gloomy atmosphere inside. Everything from high ceilings, twenty-four cavern like rooms, and woodwork decor makes it a very daunting house. This place has shared many owners, but they all seem to vanish after a year or two with no explanation. One ghost is a young maid who is seen on the fourth floor. She hung herself in 1915 after suffering from a failed love affair. Charles Wade a former gardener and caretaker has been seen repeatedly in the library. Footsteps march up and down the steps, doors open and close by themselves, voices are heard everywhere, light bulbs shatter, lights turn on and off, and objects move of their own occur by some pretty reliable witnesses. St. Pioneer Press has spent the night at the house left in the early hours of morning with absolute sure minds that the place was haunted. They were skeptics before they came to the house. Many owners and even the art school that resided there have described very similar experiences. This place is the most notorious haunted house in all of Minnesota.

Please remember when investigating to be respectful of all private property and to get permission before trying your hunting. Otherwise, have a good time, enjoy, and send me all your experiences.

Thank you to the 'yahoo contributor' and her sources: http://www.prairieghosts.com/griggs.html, http://theshadowlands.net/places/minnesota.htm, http://mendotadakota.com/mn/tag/native-ghosts-and-hauntings-in-minnesota/, http://www.geocities.com/area51/rampart/9114/fore.html, http://www.listology.com/list/haunted-locations-minnesota-ive-visited-one-way-or-another, http://www.paranormalknowledge.com/articles/lakeview-cemetery.html, and http://www.hauntedhouses.com/states/mn/.