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Radon in Your Home

Testing is the only way to know if you and your family are at risk from radon. EPA and the Surgeon General recommend testing all homes below the third floor for radon.

You cannot predict radon levels based on state, local, and neighborhood radon measurements.  Do not rely on radon test results taken in other homes in the neighborhood to estimate the radon level in your home.  Homes which are next to each other can have different radon levels.  Testing is the only way to find out what your home's radon level is.

In some areas, companies may offer different types of radon service agreements.  Some agreements let you pay a one-time fee that covers both testing and radon mitigation, if needed.  Contact your state radon office to find out if these are available in your state.

Contact us if we can provide additional information... or if you would like recommendations for local professionals who provide Radon Testing and Radon Mitigation services. We're glad to help!

Kneip & Company, at HJN Team Real Estate: clientcare@gregkneip.com

NEW LIGHTED FOR SALE SIGNS - WHAT A BRIGHT IDEA!

We very excited to announce a FIRST for the Sioux Falls area Real Estate Community -- a new innovation that truly makes our listings stand out from the crowd! That's because our listings now are now lighted at night... every night.... for more buyers to find.

It's a simple fact. During evening hours, it's been almost impossible to see which homes are for sale in a neighborhood. It's another simple fact... buyers drive  around neighborhoods where they want to live. With the addition of lighted for sale signs on our listings, we give our sellers (and buyers trying to find their homes) an extra 3 to 5 hours of selling and buying time every evening! That could add up to an extra 150 hours of marketing time every month.

"Our clients want to know we are doing everything possible to effectively market and sell their homes," says Greg Kneip, "Lighted For Sale Signs are our newest tool to give our listings the winning edge in a competitive marketplace." Greg reports that he's already received calls about the new lighted signs -- almost immediately after they starting installing them.

Innovative ideas and creative marketing... it's what we love to do best! Kneip & Company at HJN Team Real Estate, Your Real Estate Guides since 1991. 

We just attended the Sioux Falls Area Home & Garden Show this past weekend. We didn't go there looking for a new grill -- but the amazing new patent-pending electric grills from Dakota Grills, LLC just blew us away!

They were grilling steaks and turkeys right there on the convention floor (which you couldn't smell at all, and there was no smoke detectable) -- so we sampled their finished product -- I must say, probably the most flavorful, tender, and juiciest turkey we've ever eaten -- and the steak was done to perfection. The really cool thing about these grills (in addition to the fact that they can be used indoors or outdoors, take very little energy, are not effected by our windy South Dakota days, and hold all the meats juices inside while grilling) is that you can simply insert a thermometer probe (which comes with the grill) -- digitally set the "doneness" for your meat ie, internal temperature... and literally walk away. That's because when your food reaches that temp., the grill automatically switches from cooking mode to warming mode... keeping your meal warm and done-just-right until you return. Great for us since we are notorious for putting steaks on the grill, getting distracted with guests and conversations, and burning perfectly good beef. In addition to grilling you can smoke meat in these units, you can even use them to bake cookies if you want!

Even better -- "Dakota Grills" is a true South Dakota family-run business operated out of a farm at Lake Preston. Adam is the very pleasant young man who helped us order our grill right there. They'll deliver it locally, complete with spices and recipes, and even cook us our first meal to show us how it all works! --What refreshing customer service. You can find them online at www.dakotagrills.com -- or by phone at (605) 847-4713. Your next cookout is sure to be a delicious hit!

By Scott Carlson

(Published in the Argus Leader Newspaper,  Sioux Falls, SD - 02/15/08)

Bucking the U.S. housing slump, South Dakota emerged as the only state in the nation to post rising sales of existing homes in the last quarter of 2007.

Sales of existing homes increased 8.9 percent in South Dakota from October through December compared with the same period a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

In contrast, the Realtors trade group noted that home sales in 45 other states fell, with more than half posting double-digit declines. Sales were unchanged in North Dakota, while complete sales figures were not available for Idaho, Indiana and New Hampshire.

That news didn't surprise local economists or real estate professionals, who noted that Sioux Falls' economy remains strong.

"We are not participating in the housing bust," said Randall Stuefen, an economist in Vermillion. "Our (housing) prices did not run up, as in other areas of the country, and they are not collapsing now. The (housing) sales have been constant. It doesn't appear the sky is falling."

Stuefen predicted the Sioux Falls housing market might show some softness compared with its best boom years. But overall, Sioux Falls housing should remain strong unless there are additional shocks to the national economy, he said.

Meanwhile in the real estate trenches, one Sioux Falls executive is expecting brisk business this year.

"I think we are going to continue to flourish and see the economy rise and the housing market do well, particularly if interest rates continue to remain low," said Liz Lloyd, vice president of residential real estate at Lloyd Cos.

Lloyd noted that business in all areas of her company is up for the first two months of 2008 compared with the same period last year.

Last month, the Realtor Association of the Sioux Empire reported that homes sales declined slightly for a second consecutive year in 2007 but that the median home price rose 5 percent.

In its latest survey, the National Association of Realtors also reported that 73 of 150 U.S. metro areas showed an increase in median single-family home prices from a year earlier.

Sioux Falls was among the gainers, with its median home sale price rising from $138,000 in 2006 to $144,500 in 2007.

"The healthiest housing markets today generally are moderately priced and are experiencing job growth and often population growth, which in turn is supporting strong price growth," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

Lloyd said that definitely is the case in Sioux Falls. She noted that the community's financial services, health care industries and small businesses are continuing to grow.

Meanwhile, median home prices fell in more than half of the 150 metropolitan areas surveyed. Out of the 77 that posted declines, 16 showed double-digit percentage drops, according to the Realtors group.

Yun attributed the declines in median prices to mortgage market problems that mushroomed last fall, making loans more expensive for borrowers looking to take out "jumbo" mortgages larger than $417,000, the maximum size of mortgages that government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy and market as securities.

"The continuing crunch in the jumbo loan market that began in August has disproportionately reduced the number of transactions in higher price ranges," Yun said in a statement.

Nationwide, existing homes sold at an annual rate of 4.96 million units in the fourth quarter, down 21 percent from the sales pace of the third quarter in 2006, the Realtors group said.

Mortgage lenders, would-be homebuyers and Wall Street investors alike have been grappling throughout the past year with the effects of rising defaults, the result of lax lending standards that were prevalent during this decade's housing boom. As defaults have risen, lenders have grown more cautious, which has allowed fewer buyers to qualify for home loans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach reporter Scott Carlson at 331-2318