by G. Sax (@gsax)
Hello, all you people who are interested in topics of real estate in the city of Saint Paul. I wasn't here last Wednesday because I was in California. I will be in New York next Wednesday. I will be in Indiana a couple of Wednesdays after that.
Not very Saint Paul of me And I'm not even one of these people who hates winter. Now that I'm not a kid walking uphill both ways to school or pulling a sled full of Sunday newspapers along my paper route, I love winter.
I'm a big supporter and patron of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. I dig in the snow for hidden medallions for hours at a time in the middle of the night. I participate in both parades. I always check out the ice sculptures and usually get out to the ice rink by the Landmark Center. J'aime l'hiver!
I like always having a good reason to eat chili. I like wearing scarves.
But I've also learned that winter in Minnesota becomes easier to handle when you break it up or shake it up, so I tend to do that now. I always come back refreshed and ready to do things in my own town and spend quality time in my own house.
My own house. It still feels good to say this a couple of years after buying. I suspect it will feel good 20 years after buying. If you haven't already, you should consider it. The tax incentive stuff for first-time buyers is a pretty rare thing. So are these interest rates. So are these decreased home prices.
I don't want to sound like everyone else trying to sell you a house, because, oh, wait, I can't possibly sound like that, because I don't sell houses for a living. It just makes sense to me at this particular point in American history to consider the option. We're in uncharted opportuniterritory.
And, hey, if you're ready for a bigger, better house, there's a move-up incentive now, too. The hope is that the tax break will help fatten the inventory in higher price ranges, so people have more to choose from in their desire to move up. There's a lot of anecdotal evidence around town that people are ready to move but just don't have enough to choose from.
It's difficult to know if all this free government money stuff is going to work out when you're looking at it from below zero degrees when the pace slows and folks hunker down. But Minnesotans are pretty good at making sunny and 10 degrees equate to balmy and 90 degrees after a week in negative digits.
Housing activity will increase. Will you be among those searching for solace in the city of Saint Paul? We'd love to have ya join us in our search for zany ideas for fun.
