Hot Dogs and Sioux Falls Housing

Hot Dog!

These tubes of meat by-product have been on my mind lately. Quite frankly (I had to say it), I think the sounds and smells of hot dogs sizzling on the grill, and the taste of their bubbling hot juicy goodness is as fundamental to summer (and specifically the 4^th of July) as snow is to Christmas.

I champion the wieners for so many reasons. For one, they don’t play middle of the road. I cannot think of another food that is considered repulsive by so many and adored by so many more.  This awkward delight which has stolen its sleek design from its cousin, the sausage, actually has gotten its namesake from the derogatory and untrue comments that its ingredients could quite possibly be made up of dog meat.

How cool is this?! A food, falsely rumored upon its conception to be made up of remnants of a beloved household pet, has risen to such heights of popularity to be included in the exclusive group of universal favorites such as coffee, hamburgers, beer and fries.

What other food can get groups of people to stand in line in order to get one for free, when they could just as easily buy a pack of them for a couple bucks?  In 2010, consumers spent $1.6 BILLION dollars on hot dogs in U.S. supermarkets!  No data found for how many franks were slapped out for free for the sake of promotion.

Hot dogs have their own sales season (Memorial Day to Labor Day, Americans typically consume 7 billion hot dogs). Like frankfurters, in our area, houses have a season too. Is it coincidence that it is the same “season” as hot dogs? I think NOT! :)

NOW is the season for selling and buying homes in Sioux Falls, SD too.  Sure they get bought and sold year round. But when the weather is hot, housing is best round here.

We may not have people standing in line (although watch closely at foreclosed homes that are priced right) but smart buyers are out there.  Houses may not be free but we are tops in housing affordability for the country, right here in good ole’ South Dakota.

If you are waiting for house prices to go down here in the Sioux Empire. Wait no longer.  Real estate is already on SALE! And unlikely to go anywhere but UP in our area. Check out June 30, 2011 USA TODAY:

South Dakota and Alaska also appear among the states to be "least vulnerable" to further home price declines given their stronger economies, says Capital Economics economist Paul Dales. In the first quarter, Alaska house prices rose 2.7% year-over-year, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. They fell 5.5% nationally. South Dakota has one of the nation's lowest unemployment rates, at 4.8% in May vs. 9.1% nationwide.

Existing home sales data also show strong demand for housing in the state, Dales says.

States with fewer troubled loans are likely to have fewer foreclosures, which can be a drag on prices. As of May, the states with the lowest percentage of loans that were delinquent or in foreclosure were Montana, Wyoming, Arkansas, South Dakota and North Dakota, says Lender Processing Services.

So, belly up to the grill-out this 4^th of July holiday weekend. Slam down a few dogs. And take a minute to relax at your fire pit 'n think about the great American dream of home ownership. And if record low house prices and record low interest rates make sense to you and yours, give an agent and a lender a call.

If you want GREAT advice, give me a call and I’ll get you started in the right direction.

Until then, this is my quick salute to the American way and the polarizing perfectness of our patriotic food companion, the hot dog! UH HUH!

3105 South Hawthorne Ave, Sioux Falls, SD

3105 S Hawthorne $84,900