AFTER RENOVATIONThis weeks Historic Home in St Paul is 353 Summit Avenue.Built in 1882 for William Dean, the home "only" cost $15,000 to build. Mr. Dean was a partner for the local wholesale hardware firm, Nicols, Dean, and Gregg, and also sat on the Great Northern Railroad board of directors. Little is known about the architect. A photo exists of the home taken in 1895. Designed as a Queen Anne Victorian, it is a great example of half-timbering.Around 1900, the home was altered beyond recognition of its original Queen Anne style. Below is a photo of what the home had looked like up until 2005.  BEFORE RENOVATIONAs you can see, it looks nothing like the beautiful Queen Anne of 1882. The front gable and chimneys are the only remaining pieces visual to the eye that haven't changed. In 2... 03/26/2008

This is a great time to be a first time buyer in Como Park!There are now currently 107 active single family listings in Como, up 5 in five days! The spring market is here!These have an average list price of $212,992, and have been on the market an average of 75 days.There are currently 17 pending sales at an average list price of $202,315, on the marjket an average of 85 days.Hope to see you out in the market soon! Stay tuned, we are having another Como Park Open House Tour this weekend!!Shawn 03/24/2008

 Hello there! Here's a quick update on the single family inventory in Como Park, Minnesota:102 Active Listings, $213,686 average list price, 73 days on market average.15 Pending Sales, $204,303 average list price, 87 average days on market.This translates to around a 6.8 month supply in Como Park (MLS 744)We are seeing a lot of traffic through our team's open houses, and increased showings as well throughout our market. With the recent fed rate cut of .75 of a point, we may see more buyer confidence.Stay tuned!Shawn 03/19/2008

By now, we're all accustomed to the doom-and-gloom articles that have been written about the housing market. Make no mistake, the housing market as a whole is still very much a buyer's market.In a sellers market, you can afford to be in less than ideal condition, marginally overpriced and marketed by your brother's cousin who just got his license - and still sell.Savvy sellers are now realizing that to get their homes sold, they need to be willing to SELL, not merely LIST.In a buyer's market, there really become two markets: In The Market, and Fantasyland.To be In The Market, sellers have to be willing to invest the time, energy and resources necessary in order to sell. Those that do, while marketing their homes aggressively, usually meet their home-selling goals.Unfortunately, buyers h... 03/17/2008

There were two other listings that came on the market today in Como Park. Four in one day! Looks like spring may indeed be in full swing in Como. Please don't hesitate to call me for information on any homes for sale that you may see. Especially first time buyers! I'm always happy to be of service!Shawn 03/14/2008

These new Como Park homes are in great shape and will make great buys!1109 Chatsworth St. N., St. Paul      $209,5001576 Alameda St. N., St. Paul   $184,900Check them out on youtube when you get the chance! Just enter the address in the search bar.Hope to see you at our open houses this weekend!Shawn 03/14/2008

Como Park Open House Tour Number 2! Our team is excited to be hosting another Open House tour inside Como Park this weekend. Four homes will be open from 12-4 on Sunday March 16, 2008. The homes featured will be (copy and paste into Google for a map): 980 Victoria Street North, St. Paul, MN 55103 1109 Chatsworth Street North, St. Paul, MN 55103 1576 Alameda Street North, St. Paul, MN 55117 815 Idaho avenue, St. Paul, MN 55117 visit www.hartmannteam.com for more info on the homes!  We will be giving away free inspections to all unrepresented buyers that see all four homes and choose our team to help them find their next home!! We hope to see you there! Please mention this blog post when you say Hi! Shawn 03/14/2008

Hello!As of 8:06 PM, Thursday march 13, 2008 in MLS District 744 (Como Park), there are 94 Active Listings, with an average list price of $213,425, with an average market time of 77 days.16 Pending Sales, with an average list price at time of purchase agreement of $191,778 with an average market time of 80 days.More later!Shawn 03/13/2008

Stop by our Kiosk at Rosedale Mall! We have created this convenient and informal way to chat with a local real estate professional! We love having visitors drop by and we are excited to help with questions you have! Any topic from Buying your first home to selling your current home. We can help! It is an informal environment, so feel free to stop by without an appointment. We are located across from Borbers in the main mall corridor on the 2nd level. Looking forward to seeing you there! Hours of operation will be (Mon-Fri: noon-8PM) & (Weekends: noon-4pm). Please leave comments for us on this blog!   Keller Williams Integrity Realty 2680 Snelling Ave N Roseville, MN 55113   Agents are: Shawn Hartmann, Shawn Korby, Joel Meidal, Ryan Radtke, Ryan Bretzel, and Deborah Bastyr. www.hartmannt... 03/12/2008

Stop by our Kiosk at Rosedale Mall! We have created this convenient and informal way to chat with a local real estate professional! We love having visitors drop by and we are excited to help with questions you have! Any topic from Buying your first home to selling your current home. We can help! It is an informal environment, so feel free to stop by without an appointment. We are located across from Borbers in the main mall corridor on the 2nd level. Looking forward to seeing you there! Hours of operation will be (Mon-Fri: noon-8PM) & (Weekends: noon-4pm).Please leave comments for us on this blog!  Keller Williams Integrity Realty 2680 Snelling Ave NRoseville, MN 55113  Agents are: Shawn Hartmann, Shawn Korby, Joel Meidal, Ryan Radtke, Ryan Bretzel, and Deborah Bastyr. www.hartmannteam.... 03/12/2008

As of this posting, according to stat from our local MLS, here is an update for our local real estate market for Roseville MN and for Como Park MN. Current single family homes for sale in Roseville total 139 active. Wow, in the past 10 days 18 new listings have come on in MLS district 702 (Roseville, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale). Just two weeks ago the number was 119 active. Looks like there will be an awesome selection of homes available to the fortunate buyers who take part in this incredible buyers market. In addition to the 139 active, there are at least 3 more non-mls and non-advertised FSBOs that I’m aware of in the area as well. Como Park is building up as well, with 101 active single family homes currently on the market. As is always the case, there is alot of buyer activity in t... 03/08/2008

This weeks showcase Historic Home in St Paul is 271 Summit Avenue.Built in 1882, this home was commissioned by Joshua Sanders, but not as seen. The original home, from my research, was a one and a half story home that cost $5000 to build. When Sanders sold the home in 1887, the new owner, Emerson Peet, added a $7000 addition, which is the current home we see today.Ernest Sandeen describes this home as a Tuscan Villa. The term is not widely used today for most homes of this style are lumped into the Italianate or Second Empire architectural group. Maybe because the home is simple in its design is one of the reasons it is hard to define. Not too much has changed about the home over the century of its existence. If you look closely at this photo taken in 1888, you can see that the central... 02/29/2008

Another great place to go on a cold day.  The fern room is not a good place to take a camera because it is so damp inside.  Not a cold damp but a warm damp, which is nice because we have enough cold here in Minnesota.  The McNeely Conservatory at Como park is free.  They ask for a $2.00 donation.  It is a great place to go anytime but during the cold winter months people tend to linger. The plant is called "little wart" funny name for such a beautiful flower.Painted daisies.   02/21/2008

An unusual photo essay even for me. I did not have to drive far to get the pictures and they are not pretty pictures. They are pictures of dispair, and of urban decay. There are more pictures like this each month. There are currently 1624 registered vacant building in St. Paul, MN. The number goes up every month, and many of them are in foreclosure. Of the 2009 single family homes currently on the market 716 or about 36% of them are in some stage of foreclosure. Many of the homes that are in some stage of foreclosure that are on the market are vacant but not registered , many do not have for sale signs in front of them . The data used to determine how many homes are on the market in various stages of foreclosure came from the MLS. Since listings are not categorized as foreclosures much... 02/14/2008

Six years ago I married into a Catholic family, knowing full well that one day I would convert into the church. Now this post isn't about religion, but religion is going to help me write this post.This Sunday I celebrated my Rite of Election at the Cathedral of Saint Paul. I had been in the church before during the last Ramsey Hill Home Tour, and knew it would be a great opportunity to test out my camera. The church is stunning, to say the least, and would provide some beautiful photos. But I knew I would have some major lighting problems, because much of the church is in low light.Some photos came out really well, and of course, those were the ones with the most natural light coming in through the stain-glass windows. The photo to the left looks good, but there is some glare. When I tr... 02/11/2008

In its 34th season, the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale continues to provide beautiful choral music for the Latin High Mass at the Church of Saint Agnes.  The Chorale is joined by a professional chamber orchestra which includes former and present members of the Minnesota Orchestra and area freelance artists [all instrumentalists are members of Local 30-73, American Federation of Musicians].  Professional vocal soloists include Patricia Kent (soprano), Jocelyn Kalajian (contralto), Adam Gedde (tenor) and Jon Nordstrom (bass).  Mary LeVoir is the organist.  Gregorian chant is sung by the Saint Agnes Schola Cantorum, under Paul LeVoir.   Following is the schedule (for the remainder of the 2007-08 season) of Masses with orchestral accompaniment.  Mass performance times are at 10:00 A.M. Sunday... 02/04/2008

Downtown St. Paul has about 5 miles of indoor skyways connecting the buildings.  In the wonter when it is cold out and I want to go for a walk without freezing I head for the skyways.  I only wish I could bring my dog with, she would love it. Walking in doors might not seem like fun but it is.  Here is some of the wild life that can be found in the skyway between the trade center and the  children's musuem of Minnesota. Not all of the skyways are open on Sunday so the trick is to not get stuck in a dead end and have to turn around or go outside to get to the next building.  Some of the skyways are heated and some are not.  Some are full of people and others are empty.   Most are well lit and much more pleasant than walking out side in the cold. 02/03/2008

Last season was an unqualified success for Saint Paul's Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. The Ordway enjoyed a boost in total attendance, with 359,000 patrons for 2006-07.  And the Ordway also reported a surplus of $422,000 for the season. The three principal tenants for the Ordway included the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera and the Schubert Club.  The Center also presented a number of touring Broadway shows and productions, including Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", "Rent", "Chicago", "Love, Janis" and Matthew Bourne's"Edward Scissorhands".  The Irving Berlin production alone brought in over $5.5 million in a six-week run at the Ordway.   01/30/2008

This weeks Historic Home in St Paul is 353 Summit Avenue.Built in 1882 for William Dean, the home "only" cost $15,000 to build. Mr. Dean was a partner for the local wholesale hardware firm, Nicols, Dean, and Gregg, and also sat on the Great Northern Railroad board of directors. Little is known about the architect. A photo exists of the home taken in 1895. Designed as a Queen Anne Victorian, it is a great example of half-timbering.Around 1900, the home was altered beyond recognition of its original Queen Anne style. Below is a photo of what the home had looked like up until 2005. As you can see, it looks nothing like the beautiful Queen Anne of 1882. The front gable and chimneys are the only remaining pieces visual to the eye that haven't changed. In 2005, a very expensive renovation was... 01/25/2008

This weeks showcase Historic Home is 339 Summit Avenue.Built in 1898 by Crawford Livingston at a cost of $14,000, the home was designed by the famous Cass Gilbert. With a Gothic / Medieval design, there is no other home quite like it in the area. Whereas most homes have a distinct porch, this home is designed with the second story coming forward to be flush with the lower story. The arches are very beautifully done with the short Corinthian columns, and the diamond shaped spandrels are very unique.Originally built as a single family residence, the home is presently divided into 5 condominiums, each having two bedrooms and somewhere between 1400-1800 square feet. The last condo unit sold in 2002 for $275,000. If the home were to sell today as one building, it would fetch well over $1 Mi... 01/08/2008