For complete article, click on link:  http://www.cnbc.com/id/42557873/States_with_the_Healthiest_Housing_Markets?slide=10

Pending sales in the 13-county Twin Cities metropolitan area were up in June 2011 an astonishing 48.1 percent over the June 2010 post-tax credit slump. The 4,492 signed contracts exceeded levels seen during any month in 2007, 2008, and 2010 except April. This dramatic increase is attributed to a sharp drop in 2010 post-tax credit sales combined with a steady increase in 2011 pending sales driven by soaring affordability.
For complete story, click on link: http://www.mplsrealtor.com/inside_newsroom_news.aspx

10 cities: Where to buy – and where to rent

In calculating whether it’s better to buy or rent, economist use a rule of thumb: If the home price is 15 times higher than the annual rent for a similar property, it is better to rent.

#1 Minneapolis: Buy

For complete article, click on link:  http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/real_estate/1006/gallery.rent_vs__buy/index.html

  Thanks to falling home prices and rising rents, would-be home buyers have the upper hand this house-hunting season. In nearly 4 out of 5 major U.S. cities, it’s now cheaper to buy a home than to rent. That’s up from 72 percent of cities last quarter, based on the Rent vs. Buy Index released by online real estate resource Trulia.

For complete article, click on link: http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2011/05/03/buying-beats-renting-in-80-percent-of-us-cities

Thank you for your continued partnership with ENERGY STAR. By building ENERGY STAR qualified homes, your company is doing its part to help protect the environment while offering consumers new homes that are more comfortable and save money on utility bills.

Our records indicate that your company built a total of 66 ENERGY STAR Qualified Homes in 2010*

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We thank you for the important contribution that your organization has made to energy-efficient construction and environmental protection.

* Your ENERGY STAR Qualified Homes are reported quarterly to EPA by your Home Energy Rating Provider. If you believe that the reported number of homes is not correct, please contact your Provider directly.

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Purchasing a new Rottlund home offers you peace of mind.

All components are new with manufacturers’ warranty which means no costly repairs or replacement.

You will be the first person to live in your new Rottlund home, no one else has ever lived here before and everything is new – just for you!

Your new Rottlund home is built to the latest building codes and inspections.

Your new Rottlund home is built using the latest materials, technologies and your choise in design – no costly updating!

LendingTree crunched the numbers for all 50 states and the District of Columbia to find the healthiest and least healthy housing markets, based on five key criteria: debt-to-income ratio, unemployment, home ownership, negative equity and the average loan-to-value ratio.

For complete article, click on link:  http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/states-with-the-healthiest-housing-markets.html

Florida’s existing home sales surged in March, recording the single biggest month since late 2005.

Sales of condos and homes jumped 36 percent from February to March, surpassing the national rise of 3.7 percent, according to figures from the Florida Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. Statewide, existing sales are up 15.8 percent from March 2010.

For complete article, click on link:  http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=MTI0Njk0NzY%3D

While home sales across the country continue to fall, the housing market in Minnesota is showing some signs of momentum. Or at least stability.

In Minnesota, there were 7,284 home sales during January and February, a 5.7 percent increase over the same period last year, according to the Minnesota Association of Realtors.

For complete article, click on link:  http://www.startribune.com/housing/118405319.html

Despite a bruising, five-year drop in U.S. home prices, eight in ten Americans still believe that home ownership is the best long-term investment they can make, according to a new survey.

For complete article, click on link:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42560276/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/