St. Cloud, MN - Real Estate Blog

That's right, it is time to take a little vacation.  They say the best way to spark business is to try and schedule some time off.  We'll see how that works for me.

While I am in San Diego, I plan on trying to look at some properties in their distressed market.  I am seeing homes on-line that are selling for similar prices as they had back in 1999 when I left!  Hopefully something jumps out at me and I can buy a new home.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud

http://StCloudEdina.com - Get a list of the bank owned properties available to purchase in Minnesota.

Posted by Jason Tangen at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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While it wouldn't have been my first choice of things to do with a whole lot of money, I have to admit that the new St Cloud Regional Library is a very impressive structure that accents the landscape of downtown St Cloud quite nicely.

I had the chance to do a tour and utilize one of their meeting spaces (free for non-profit organizations) with a group from the Chamber of Commerce the other day.  While I started out very skeptical of this expensive structure, once I got inside I was really quite impressed.  Hopefully it gets used like the citizens of St Cloud think it will be for many years to come.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud

Planning on selling your home?  Over 80% of buyers are finding their homes on-line.  Use the real estate agent that is the best in Central MN for real estate advertising on the web.

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Try the e-Market Analysis (free home value estimator).

Posted by Jason Tangen at 06:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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This ought to be fun:

I have decided that I am going to run for President of the United States in 2012 as a candidate independent from any party.  This will give me lots of time to prepare.

Why, you may ask, have I waited so long to run for President?  Well it is because I haven't been old enough to run the country until this election.

What is my platform?  I will tell you.

1. Abortion - I don't know why we still consider this an issue.  There is never anything that will be done at a national level to cure this dilemma.  We are too divided as a nation on this issue.  I suggest that we put it on the individual states ballots and let the locals decide for themselves.  Then, if North Carolina says that abortions are illegal and you don't agree, you can move to another state that agrees with your morals and ideals.
2. Campaign Fund Raising - Any money I receive will be turned over to local charities.  I hope that other candidates put at least 10% of their campaign funds to charity as well.
3. Campaign Ads - You can only use the "I" form of advertising (be it radio, TV, or whatever).  The moment you say anything about your opponent (good or bad), you lose your right to advertise on that medium.  Speak only about yourself and the issues at hand.
4. Line Item Veto - We can get rid of the pork.  I understand that most things in congress get done under the dust cloud of some other bill, but no more.  If a bill hits the President's desk, he/she can cross out the things that don't belong in that bill.  The rest has to go back and get re-voted on through Congress and the Senate.  I would hate to be the first person who votes for war against Canada just because they got $10 Billion for their state to clean up a cheese factory spill.
5. Balanced Budget - We only get to spend within our budget.  Millions of Americans struggle every month to stay within their means, it is the government's job to do so as well.
6. Social Security - It will be long gone by the time I'm old enough to receive it so how about if we work on our escape plan.  Nobody my age or younger will receive any social security.  Deal with it.  That isn't the worst.  People born on or before 01/01/2020 will have to pay into social security until they are 30.  Anyone up to the age of 45 by the time I am in office only gets 33% of their entitlement, and beyond that as much as we can afford.  The rest of us, we had better start saving now.
7. Health care - The VA is not necessarily the greatest health care in the world, but it is definitely better than it seems like most people have now.  We will work to have everyone get the same health care afforded to our military personnel.
8. Taxes - I always liked Steve Forbes' idea of a flat tax, but I think that we need to phase it in over time somehow.  Maybe we start with a 1% across the board sales tax increase on everything the first year (plus regular income taxes) and every year get a little bigger on the sales tax but collect a little less in property and income taxes.  That will soften the blow rather than imposing a nearly 20% sales tax on everything year on year one. 

We know our current system is flawed and needs some help, but we are all too afraid to try something else.  I say, rather than promising a ton of things, we try to accomplish a few.

What do you think?

Posted by Jason Tangen at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Here are the numbers of total residential homes that were sold in each area during last month.

North St Cloud - 11

South St Cloud - 17

East St Cloud - 9

West St Cloud - 7

Sauk Rapids - 12

Sartell - 17

Waite Park - 6

St Joseph - 11

If you would like more data for real estate sales in central Minnesota, give me a call at (320) 492-2667 or post your requests here.  I can pull together just about any real estate related data that you would like from specific office sales to average sales prices and more.

Jason Tangen, GRI - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud MN

http://StCloudEdina.com - Home of the e-Market Analysis (free home value estimator).

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Search real estate in St Cloud MN.

Posted by Jason Tangen at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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We have seen the end of a crazy period of time both in the real estate market and in the stock market.  It is truly amazing how things can change so fast.  Click on the file below to see the overall real estate sales statistics for St Cloud, Waite Park, Sartell, and Sauk Rapids Minnesota.  Please note that this file is intended for personal knowledge.  If you are planning on using any of the information contained herein, please acknowledge its author (Jason Tangen - e-PRO, GRI - Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud) properly.

Download file

The one big item of concern that I touch base on is the fact that real estate values (both median and average) showed approximately a 7% decline from the 3rd quarter of 2007.  Something to think about if you are preparing to sell your home.

If you would like to view previous Tangen reports, visit http://stcloudedina.com/blog/the_tangen_report/.

If you would like me to break down the statistics for your specific neighborhood or area in Central MN, please post your request here for everyone to see and use in the future.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud MN

http://StCloudEdina.com - Home of the e-Market Analysis (free home value estimator).

Looking to sell?  Use the real estate agent who is the best on the web for advertising real estate.

Posted by Jason Tangen at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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