City living across the nation has never been more prevalent than in recent years. A rise in urban sales among business professionals, as well as with transitioning and/or down-sizing households, clearly reflect this is more than simply a trend.

As a result, City properties that afford off-street parking and garage stalls draw a premium since these necessities are both expected and often at the top of the list of many buyers' list of wants and needs.

Note this interesting Wall Street Journal article on the subject with a quote from our very own Chad Larsen:

Wall Street Journal Real Estate 2014

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Brrr-utal polar temperatures have generated a ripple effect of dead car batteries, flat tires, frost-bitten toes and water damage due to frozen pipes.

Please remember, 'Safety First!'

Note these tips from Nationwide Insurance which offer universally helpful information to homeowners for keeping your pipes from freezing this winter. 

 Tips to Keep Your Pipes from Freezing this Winter

 

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For over thirty years the Barry Berg Group has been focused on matching homes with lifestyles.

As a team of real estate professionals, our commitment has always been to ensure that our client finds the right fit for their particular wants and needs. In doing so we have set the standard for the Minnesota real estate industry. However, it is our personal endeavor to share our experience to assist our new friends and neighbors to find a place that they can call home is further proof that our approach is successful. The numbers support this, but most importantly do the testimonials and experiences of our clients. 

 

 

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Holidays can be an emotional time for all of us. The pressure of work functions, family gatherings, shopping, cooking, and the worries about our waistlines can make even the most stalwart among us start to fret.

It was experiencing these pressures that had us thinking about the challenges our clients face when selling their home. Note this article that touches on a few key topics that some of clients are concerned about when selling--we thought it worthwhile to share.

Happy Holidays!

MSN Real Estate article “4 Mistakes Emotional Home Sellers Make”

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"The holidays are approaching. My home hasn’t sold yet.  Should I take it off The Market?"

Year after year, realtors advise homeowners who’ve not sold their home to pull them off the market during the holidays.  Yet, December has been our team’s #1 selling month for most of the past decade.  

Think about it.  Who looks for a home between mid-November and the end of the year? Transferees.  And local homeowners who’ve finally sold their own homes and need to buy the next home. 

Guess what?  There may not be many of these buyers, but they NEED to buy, usually want close quickly, and don’t have or take the time to track homes that are no longer on the ACTIVE market. 

Who wins?  The home sellers who keep their homes on the market.  They won’t…

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Home defines the place in which we seek refuge and where we gather with friends and loved ones. As circumstances change, lifestyle needs transform and where we call home changes. That said, the strenuous past few years have not been without struggles for all. 

Today we see with the recovering economy our communities seeking to restore balance. Homeowners and home buyers are moving forward with refined focus.

It has been our aim to assist our clients and their families in this venture, setting the standard for the real estate industry. We've been matching homes with lifestyles for over thirty years and as a team we've never been stronger. We truly enjoy what we do and it is satisfying and fulfilling for us to help our clients in their journey…

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What do you do when you can't go out? You go up!

Home decorating tips have long utilized illusions to enhance and optimize form and function of tight quarters. Take for instance drapery applications in a standard bedroom with the window set in the middle of the wall. When flanked by floor-to-ceiling drapes it gives the illusion of a wall of windows, which in turn translates into the room having the sense of being larger and more open.

By taking it a step further, why not employ the same idea with doorways and closets? Traditional doorways in a 12x10 room typically are just under seven feet high -- mere inches above a grown adult's head whereas a ceiling-to-floor doorway increases the headroom by at least a foot. This gives the illusion of higher…

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We sprang forward last Spring, and we are now approaching that time of year when we 'Fall Back'.

Ever wonder why Daylight Saving Time?

For many, we perhaps once knew the answer, but unless you have a school-aged person in your household, its been long forgotten.

For those of us who need a refresher, link to view this informative article posted last year at this time, National Geographic Daily News  - "Daylight Saving Time 2012: Why and When Does it Begin?"

Remember to set your clocks back one hour when you go to bed Saturday, November 2nd--and enjoy that extra hour of sleep!

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Invariably as the calendar turns another page to October when seasons transition between glorious fall colors and winter's glistening fluffy white snow, leaves fall from tree branches while gray skies cast shadows making even the lovliest of properties appear drab and lonely.

Wise homeowners with properties on the market take care to keep window boxes and planters filled with happy seasonal colors, keeping up with leaf raking, and having their property well lit and inviting with outdoor landscape lighting.

It's during this shoulder season that movie theaters and television networks promote the macabre Halloween season by airing an onslaught of all things scary leading up to the unholy holiday. Being in the forefront of viewers…

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