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Community Corner

Maple Grove Housing Market 'Holding Up' in Tough Economy

The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors says the Maple Grove housing market is fairing better than others in the metro area.

Janelle Griffin and her husband spent six months researching and touring homes all over the metro area before deciding to buy a new home in Maple Grove.

“We really wanted to find the perfect house,” she said. “We knew we wanted a newer home, one that was in a safe neighborhood, and one near good schools.”

The couple opted to build a new home along the Maple Grove/Plymouth border.

The Griffins are just one of 83 people to get a new single family housing permit from the city this year. A number that is down slightly from last year. However, Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors President Brad Fisher says he is seeing a slight uptick in new construction across the metro.

“It’s not a huge increase,” he said. “However, it is a number that is trending up which is a good a sign.”

In fact, the median home price in Maple Grove did rise this year by 4 percent, while the overall metro area saw home prices sink 5 percent.

“Maple Grove is holding up a little better than most cities,” Fisher said. 

As the country slowly pulls itself out of a recession Fisher believes 2011 will be a stabilizing year.  “I think consumers are starting to feel more confident but I think a lot of people are still sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what happens next.”

Right now the average home price in Maple Grove is $287,125 according to a report done by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.

“There is no question that there are some good deals out there right now,” Fisher said. “Cities like Maple Grove are certainly more affordable than they have been in the past.”

While the market may be great for buyers, Fisher says it is the first time in a long time that Minnesota homeowners have watched their home values decline.

“The midwest has typically had a very stable housing market and now people are seeing a regression in their home value,” he said.

That’s the case for Susan Fuller, a single mother of two who is now upside down on her mortgage.

“Over the last few years my home has dropped more than $20,000 in value,” she said. “It’s a crazy and alarming thing to think about.”

Fisher says he’s not sure if home values will ever be as high as they once were.

“We got used to homeowners being able to live in a home for a few years and the home would appreciate in value,” he said. “Years ago that wasn’t the case, it would take an average of seven years for homeowners to break even on the sale of their home and that is a situation I think is more likely to return.”

Still, Fisher says the future is hard to predict.

“This is a very different market,” he said.  “It will take some time to figure out where the housing market will settle.”

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