Just slightly over 1 year ago, I was analyzing the past, present and future of the real estate market in Pequot Lakes, MN...and didn't like what the tea leaves were revealing. Not one bit...
And so the process began in trying to determine where best to relocate my family. Not necessarily just where we should move in order to better ourselves financially, but where would we fit? Where could we move so that we were comfortable with not only the surroundings, but the people as well? And so the search was on....where could we go? Yes we chose Alaska....or perhaps Alaska chose us?
When we had our first child, everyone told us to enjoy them as they grow up so fast! And of course we said that we would...but we had no idea how fast it actually would go. With just a few short years now remaining with the kids, we not only wanted to relocate somewhere where would be able to prosper and provide for them, but to also have some fun with them. Not just a hot dog at the county fair kind of fun, but something that we hoped would actually make a significant statement in the forming in their lives. Mountain hiking, whale watching, world class salmon and halibut fishing, and the variety of hunting challenges that heretofore only were imaginable via Sports Afield and the like.
As I sat up every night in my recliner trying to determine where to go, the indicators routinely kept pointing to Alaska, and perhaps more specifically, the Mat-Su Valley. And so the wheels were set in motion to come up and see if it was as the research indicated. And it was.
Having witnessed a real estate market collapse and being virtually powerless to help my long time clients, a change needed to be made. Having been a licensed real estate professional since 1993, there have been good, as well as bad, periods in the market, but at no point had it ever looked so grim or had such a lack of hope. With the oil boom in North Dakota attracting the unemployed from Minnesota in droves, the outlook for a recovery loomed further and further. And although we have deep family roots to North Dakota, it wasn't where we envisioned having that much "fun" with the kids in our time remaining with them.
And so on what was the arguably the hardest thunderstorm that Minnesota experienced all year, I shut the hatch on the 26' U-Haul attached the car hauler to it and pulled away. We will never know whether it was tears or rain drops that were running down our faces as we watched our home, our business, our family and our friends disappear in the rear view mirror. And although we are 3100 miles from where we were at this time last year, we have met new friends and even some family members that we were unaware of.
As it relates to the real estate market...there is life. More life than we have seen in years. And although the market has not yet hit the levels that it experienced in 2006, it did experience a nearly 10% increase in number of homes sold this year and only a 1.65% drop in values. In a recovering market it is normal for the price increase to lag slightly behind an increase in units. Of note, the number of units sold in 2011 was the highest since 2007. With interest rates hovering at record lows, and an inventory that is decreasing, it would be logical to expect that 2012 will result in an increase in average sales price over 2011.
10-year Comparison Report
Borough: 1D - Matanuska Susitna Borough
Construction Type: Existing and New Construction
| Year | # Sold | Avg. List Price | % List Price Change | Avg. Sold Price | % Sold Price Change | Avg. DOM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
We have went through a lot over the last 12 months...of course there have been highs and lows as you would expect, but the highs outweigh the lows.
I am now fully immersed in Alaskan real estate and although I may not know every street in the Mat-Su Valley, the knowledge that comes as a result of selling in a market that has lost over 50% of its value is proving to be invaluable as we set about creating a long list of satisfied past clients. Many of the licensees here have not been through a declining market, and are struggling to know just how to solve the problems that a downturn can create.
And that's where experience over experiments pay off.
Let me offer a heart felt thank you to Alaska for welcoming us and for making us feel more welcome than we could have ever imagined.
Greg
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