Sioux Falls Real Estate Blog

Open Houses
May 12-13, 2012

Visit us at the HBASE Parade of Homes!

Saturday, May 12: 1-5 pm
Sunday, May 13: 1-5 pm
Monday, May 14: 5:30-8:30 pm
Sunday, May 13: 1-5 pm
Monday, May 21: 5:30-8:30 pm

12-1:30 pm:
3808 W. 80th St, $224,900

Sunday, May 13:

12-1 pm:
905 S. Sherman Ave, $117,500

1:30-2:30 pm:
2613 S. Princeton Ave, $259,900

3-4 pm:
6513 W. Verbena St, $137,900

3-5 pm:
3128 S. Triple Play Ave, $153,900

Visit us Sunday to tour brand new construction homes!
Still time to choose some finishing touches!

Sunday, May 6:

3-4 pm:
6513 W. Verbena St, $137,900

3-5 pm:
3128 S. Triple Play Ave, $153,900
3124 S. Triple Play Ave, $158,900
5311 E. Schave St, $149,900

Saturday, April 28:
1-2:30 pm:
3808 W. 80th St, $224,900

Sunday, April 29:
1:30-2:30 pm:
2613 S. Princeton Ave, $259,900

3-5 pm:
Quality New Construction by Allen Homes:

3128 S. Triple Play Ave, $153,900
3124 S. Triple Play Ave, $158,900
5311 E. Schave St, $149,900
5309 E. Schave St, $149,900

Visit us Sunday for a lake view, new construction & a wonderful family home in Harrisburg!

Sunday, April 22:
12-1 pm:
707 N. Terrace Pl, $99,900--
Cute & clean 1.5 story with hardwood floors, directly across from Covell Lake!

1:30-2:30 pm:
419 Pittsburgh Ave, Harrisburg, $155,000--
Family home with french doors & a breakfast bar! Sprinklers & privacy fence!

3-5 pm:
Quality New Construction by Allen Homes:

3128 S. Triple Play Ave, $153,900
3124 S. Triple Play Ave, $158,900
5311 E. Schave St, $149,900
5309 E. Schave St, $149,900
907 Rosewood Dr, Harrisburg, $168,900

Have you considered becoming more "earth-friendly" but aren't sure where to start? Earth day is April 22, and we think that is a great springboard for green-living all year long. Here are a couple ideas:

1. Instead of always using the dryer, install a clothes line to hang out your wet, clean items this summer.

2. Shut down your computer at night, rather than putting it to sleep.

3. Get out of the shower-- faster.

4. Put something heavy (like a brick or bottle of water) in the toilet tank. It displaces the water, so you need less to fill the tank after flushing.

5. While waiting for your shower water to warm up, place a bucket under the faucet; then, use that water for your plants.

6. Scrape your plate rather than rinsing it.

7. Opt out. Printed phone books waste a tremendous amount of paper and ink. Visit www.yellowpagesoptout.com for an easy way to opt out of multiple directories at once.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/news/home-improvement/14-ways-celebrate-earth-day-without-leaving-home/#ixzz1sQcxnxtN

We're hosting 15 Open Houses this weekend-- see you there!

Saturday, April 14

12-1 pm:
2919 S. Pepper Ridge Ave, $159,900

1:30-2:30 pm:
6304 S. Callington Circle, $660,000
3129 S. Miramar Circle, $312,000

3-4 pm:
3704 S. Stanford Ave, $154,900

Hosting a party or a weekend-long reunion is fun, exciting, and can be a bit overwhelming. Follow this list of easy preparations before your guests come to town:

• Declutter guest rooms and living areas. If short on time, stow items in an unseen area; then, organize after your guests' departure.
• Install nightlights in hallways, bedrooms, and bathrooms. You may be able to navigate your home's nooks and crannies in the dark, but your guests will appreciate the light.
• Clear out shoes, umbrellas, and other clutter near the entry door. Make room for your guests' coats & shoes.
• Place extra chairs & stools in the kitchen, as people often congregate in the kitchen during meal prep and visiting.
• Stock up on toilet paper, clean towels, and toiletries-- then, make them easy for guests to find. Avoid embarassment by making sure there's a plunger in each bathroom.
• Enjoy your time-- hosting is intended to be fun, and getting together with friends and family is among the finest things in life!

Simple upgrades can make a big difference in creating a contemporary kitchen in your home. Consider these options to make your kitchen area shine.

1. Hardware: Replacing handles, knobs, and hinges is a quick and easy way to enhance your kitchen space. An average kitchen has about 40 handles at knobs, which cost between $2-$20 each.

2. Faucet: There are many options in terms of heigh, spout, hoses, and necks.

3. Lighting: LED undercabinet light can have a dramatic effect for about $40.

4. Organization: Functionality is important to today's buyers. Practical storage is the way to go; consider over-the-door hooks, baskets in the patry, drawer organizations, wall hooks for pots and pans, and stackable sleves.

5. Countertops: Laminate can mimic the contemporary look of granite at a significant discount.

For more information or ideas, visit www.realtormag.org.

For the full story from the Argus Leader, click here.

This Argus Leader Media story printed on March 25, 2012 and was written by news reporter Sarah Reinecke.

Sioux Falls: Growing on all sides, Revitalizing the core

A city can only grow a couple ways: Either up or out.

Sioux Falls is doing both.

Downtown, residents are investing in their neighborhoods, forming associations and rehabbing rentals. On the edges of the city, developers are submitting plans, building spec homes and hoping buyers will be there.

The northwest corner is predicted to be the fastest growing area of Sioux Falls. During the past decade, people moved to the rolling hills and wide-open spaces near the intersection of Interstates 29 and 90 to capture a rural lifestyle. Now the families have grown, and they’re ready for bigger homes.

They want more schools, more grocery stores and more gas stations.

Builders will share plans for several new developments at planning meetings next month. Housing is only one element, however, as plans for a new events center and the nearby Sanford Sports Complex are fueling talk of more commercial development. To aid that growth, the Sioux Falls City Council recently approved plans to expand a special tax incentive — previously used only for downtown — to that area.

The potential boom in the northwest has a broader message as well. That energy among developers and consumers is a sign that the housing and construction sectors, key indicators of economic health, are beginning to emerge from the recession-fueled slumber.

Jeff Van Overbeke has watched the city get closer in his nine years in the area. His view that was once rolling hills and grassland is now the University Center campus, less than two miles north, on 60th Street.

“It used to be a grove out there,” said Van Overbeke, who lives on Kogel Drive, east of Marion road and two miles north of Southeast Technical Institute. “It’s getting kind of busy now.”

Bigger, pricier new homes

The population in northwest Sioux Falls in 2010 was 3,468. That includes everybody living within three miles of the Flying J truck stop.

By 2035, the population is expected to be 14,239, said Jeff Schmitt, the city’s chief planning and zoning official. The area had 1,259 households at the end of 2010 and by 2035, is expected to have 6,352 households, Schmitt said.

Billionaire Warren Buffet recently interviewed on CNBC's Squawk Box for his annual "Ask Warren" three-hour marathon. When asked about purchasing single-family homes, for use or investment, here's what he said:

BECKY: If you are a young individual investor at home and you have your choice between buying your first home or investing in stocks, where would you tell someone is the better bet?

BUFFETT: Well, if I thought I was going to live— if I knew where I was going to want to live the next five or 10 years I would— I would buy a home and I'd finance it with a 30-year mortgage, and it's a terrific deal. And if I— literally, if I was an investor that was a handy type, which I'm not, and I could buy a couple of them at distressed prices and find renters, I think that's— and again take a 30-year mortgage, it's a leveraged way of owning a very cheap asset now and I think that's probably as an attractive an investment as you can make now. But I think equities are very attractive compared to anything else.