Home For Sale in Sioux Falls - fun video play

6509 N 10th Ave, Sioux Falls

Like Living in the Country, but with a Sioux Falls Address!

$149,900

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!

Taking Off!

Time to Fly!

Things are changing and taking off! We've finally had our first thunderstorm. The Sioux Falls home buyers are coming out in larger and larger numbers. My 2 children are wrapping up their middle school and elementary phases respectively. And my wife is starting her new job tonight.  She has spent the last few years managing the house, art and ebay. Now she adds one more item to the plate... a J-O-B.

My career is changing too. I've focused the last few years on specializing with investors on properties to fix-up and flip. I love that specialized aspect of the business, but in order to have time to support my buyers and sellers of traditional properties, I've had to limit the number of investors I deal with.

Its been a great change. I'm really enjoying getting to help greater numbers of 1st and 2nd time home buying and home selling clients. It is really helping my referral base too. So if you are reading this, send me your friends and family with real estate needs. My pro-active marketing and work ethic has really been paying off for the clients I work with!

Rule of 3 and Open House On Demand!

open house on demand?

I have a rule of three. If my brain takes note at least 3 times on something interesting I've seen, heard or dreamt, I scribble out a plan.

Last weekend, I was doing the proverbial Sunday Open House from 1pm to 2pm.  And In walks a person I've seen at this same house, same open day/time about a month prior.  I said, "Hey! Long time no see! Came to look again?" The young lady responded, "YES! I've been waiting for you to do another open house on this place."

HUH? I thought. Brain spark.

"Well, you still have my card from last time?" I asked.  "Yep!" She said. "Then, why didn't you just call me then?! I can show it to you any time!"

She said that she didn't want to put me out by calling and scheduling a showing. She said she'd just prefer to stop by when the house had a scheduled open.

It is then that I thought to myself, This is like the third time someone has said they didn't want to bother anyone, and just want to see the house during an open. Third time.....third....time....THIRD TIME! stop.....Rule of 3.....make a note to self.

So now it's Monday. I've got to put in ads for the next weekend. Gotta schedule open houses. I have 9 great listings, limited time and can't possibly do opens for ALL of them in the same weekend.  But people are waiting to see these homes! Then it hits me.

I'll do OPEN HOUSES ON DEMAND. I can have a bunch of listings available to show for a vast space of time BOTH Saturday and Sunday!!  All I have to do is make signs that say "Open House on Demand! Call on the fly or schedule a time between 11am and 6pm you'd like to see this home!"

Hmmm...Open House On Demand? Yeah, I know its weird. Probably a bit clumsy and confusing at this point. But I think this just might work. 

I'm putting my internal self-editor on hold. I'm choosing to let that brain spark ignite and fire away. I'm gonna trust my rule of 3. I might stumble, but then I'll skip and eventually I'm going to hone this puppy down.

Let's see how this goes!! Wish me luck!  Heck, you can always set your own open house on demand and let me know what you think!  Saturdays or Sundays between the hours of 11am and 6pm!