Warmer temperatures and the colors of summer are here at last!

With improved weather, buyers are actively in the market seeking summer and fall occupancy. Lower interest rates, appropriately priced properties, and reduced inventory have led to a more active real estate market than we've experienced over recent years.  Buyer confidence is on the rise -- a good sign for both buyers and sellers.

Whether you desire to move up or downsize, or just need real estate help for your parents or children, let us put our professional services to work for you. 

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Whether you skirted the worst of this weekend's storm or still find yourself without power, the effects of Mother Nature's latest temperamental rant are profoundly widespread. Patience and neighborliness have become the theme as we work shoulder-to-shoulder to get back on track.

Below are links to helpful articles which we hope will help guide you through the clean up process, and to be well prepared for the next!

Best wishes to all our friends and neighbors for a speedy safe recovery! 

KARE-11 'Post-storm Clean-up Tips'

THIS OLD HOUSE 'Smart, Safe Storm and Snow Cleanup Tips'

wikiHow 'How to Prepare for a Power Outage (checklist)'

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While preparing your home for the Spring Market over the long winter months, you've likely spent the majority of your time and efforts improving the interior living spaces. Now that the clouds have broken and we're finally seeing the sun, people are out in droves to soak up what sunshine they can. This is also when buyers begin to cruise through the neighborhoods that they are considering, in order to purchase a property as their future home.

Consistently, the biggest deal breaker has been the lack of curb appeal. Fabulous homes on the inside may draw a buyers' attention on the internet only to have the the buyers change their minds upon arrival for a showing-some even refusing to get out of the car! What a sad oversight. Don't let this happen to…

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From taking our first step, expressing individuality has helped us to grow while balancing awareness of the need to fit in and remain generally excepted.

For this very reason buyers seek out a home that they feel 'fits' them in a way that isn't cookie cutter, yet doesn't stand out in such a way that turns others off.

When you are planning to move and are making your property ready for the market, you'll want to give serious consideration to curb appeal. There have been many buyers who were interested from viewing photos online, but never stepped foot inside of a property because the curb appeal was lacking.

What should be done? The answer is as simple as 1-2-3.

1 - Clean, clean, clean

2 - Update and Refresh both inside and out

3 -…

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As one school year comes to a close, planning for the next school year begins.

A major criteria for many parents is the school district that their new home lies within. Not everyone has the option of private or home schooling, so the quality of the public school system bears much weight when determining which property is the best fit for a family.

US News Top Ranking Minnesota Schools

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When competing in the marketplace at its busiest, first impressions are the most lasting. The lack of staging can be what prevents a potential buyer from connecting emotionally with a property, and envisioning themselves living there.

What can be done? Often times it's as easy as a little elbow grease and simplifying. Going the extra mile could mean extra dollars in your pocket and a successful purchase agreement on your house.

Less Is More article

Make A Statement article

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Market recovery is a process. Last year has proved that stabilizing of today's real estate marketplace has properties moving faster. The confluence of lower interest rates and appropriately priced properties has led to more sales and reduced inventory.  As we progress into a more active real estate market than we’ve experienced over recent years, we are finding buyer confidence is on the rise -- a good sign for both buyers and sellers.

Contact Barry or Chad to schedule a consultation to determine how the Barry Berg Group can put their professional services to work for you!

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When a property has four or five rooms on the upper level, but only two are set up as bedrooms (perhaps one is a sewing room, another a den, and yet another just a holding room for storage), as a seller you could be hindering yourself from getting your property sold. 

Unintentionably, the impression is that the house is too small ('it only had two bedrooms' and/or 'there's not enough storage or closet space--if they had to put all their junk into a bedroom, my things won't fit either' and so on.) Similarly, the same negative impression can be given if your staging and decorating choices are inappropriately scaled for the size of the room.

When families are seeking out a new home, they are often projecting in their mind's eye into the…

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In today's competitive real estate market, how your property compares with other like homes will mean the difference in securing an offer.

Living day to day in a property, it's easy to overlook flaws and minor fix-it projects. Then the day comes when we want to move and these seemingly little projects become an overwhelming nuisance. Some homeowners feel that the new buyer 'is going to change everything anyway, let them pay for the improvements'.

You could decide to do this. However, by doing so you set yourself up to either, 1) receive a lowball offer 'because there is so much to do to fix up the place and that will cost us money' or you could miss out entirely on an offer to the turn-key listing down the street. (Turn-key means turn the key…

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From the time that a child gets her first Barbie's Dream House, builds a treehouse, or carves out a fort in the snow, he or she starts the process of deciding what home means to them. For many, its a long stretch between knowing what their wants and needs are to what they are able to afford. So how does one go about obtaining the house of their dreams?

Start with good spending habits. The key to qualifying and getting approved for the best mortgage rates is linked closely to one's credit rating, and the amount one is approved for is what most greatly impacts one's choices when shopping for a home.

Are you just starting out as a first-time homebuyer? Regrouping following the economic crisis? Or perhaps you have a grown child that is now…

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