Our Longville/Hackensack real estate market is strongly influenced by the success of the metropolitan areas that tend to provide people opting to move to our local communities. Those metro areas may included Minneapolis/St. Paul, Des Moines, Chicago, and Fargo/Moorhead, and others.

Perhaps the largest contributor of buyers to our local market is the Greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area which includes 13 surrounding counties. Therefore, it is good to see that market showing sustained degrees of improvement. So far, 2009 indicated the highest number of pending sales since 2006. This sales increase is the 15th consecutive month of year over year increase.

This long-awaited improvement in market conditions is partially due to the low interest rates (generally in the 5.5% range), and the $8,000 federal tax credit for first time home buyers, along with the traditional resilience of Minnesota real estate.

Another good sign in the Twin Cities is a reduction in the total volume of listings (properties currently on the market), and a reduction in the percent of foreclosure properties competing in the market place.

What does this mean to those of us living here in our beautiful “lakes area”? It means more folks wanting to relocate or retire, etc. to our “God’s Country” are able to free up equities in their current, large market homesteads—and bring those funds “up north” to invest in their “dream” lake properties! The majority of sales in our local communities are cash sales because buyers free up their equity to use “up north”.

Although our local market is still suffering from poor economic conditions, these improving, large market sales conditions are encouraging. This certainly seems to suggest an improving market for our Cass County lakes area!

Optimistically,

Dick Kruger, Broker

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