| Communitywide open house of 100 homes |
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| Wednesday, 24 June 2009 | |
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Managing editor Armed with a national grant, the North Metro Realtors® Association (NMRA) is trying a new concept this weekend in Coon Rapids in an effort to stimulate the housing market. Some 100 homes will be shown simultaneously Sunday, June 28, from 1 to 4 p.m., in a community-wide open house initiative in Coon Rapids. According to Bob Day, president of the North Metro Realtors Association, this is the first of four communitywide open houses planned by the association in its trade area this summer. The others will be in Andover, Elk River and Anoka, Day said. “We hope to continue to do this the following years,” he said. To Day’s knowledge, this communitywide open house project is not only the first of its kind in the metro area, but also the state and possibly the country. The fact that North Metro received a grant from the national association - one of only two in the upper midwest - is testament to the uniqueness of the concept, Day said. “These grants are hard to get,” he said. The idea sprang from a brainstorming session between Day and Eric Myers, association government affairs director, earlier this year on ways to boost housing sales. But this is more than just a North Metro Realtors Association project. It is also designed to be a partnership with the city in which the communitywide open house takes place. In this case, the city of Coon Rapids presented a housing fair this spring, featuring both exhibits and speakers. The goal of the communitywide open house Sunday is to highlight community attributes, promote home- ownership and strengthen neighborhoods by moving housing forward, according to Day. “We want to show that Coon Rapids is a great place to live,” Day said. “This is a great opportunity for buyers and sellers alike as well as for realtors to pool their resources.” Members of the public will have the opportunity to walk through a variety of homes that are all open the same day and at the same time. These will be self-guided tours. There are over 200 agents with some 600 listings in Coon Rapids and the NMRA has encouraged all brokers and agents to show their Coon Rapids real estate listings on the same day, allowing homebuyers to walk through a variety of homes. A listing of the homes that are part of the open house, details about them and their addresses can be found on the NMRA Web site at www.northmetro.com as well as on the city of Coon Rapids housing main page. Maps to show people how to get to all the homes will also be available at each of the listed homes during the open house. According to Day, the NMRA has modeled the communitywide open house concept after the annual fall and spring Parade of Homes program in the greater Twin Cities area. There will be special yellow signs placed at the homes that are included in the communitywide open house as well as at intersections in the city, Day said. Most of the homes in the open house are existing residences, but there will be a handful of new homes that will be shown, he said. “With lower prices and favorable interest rates, affordability has improved significantly in recent months which makes for exceptional home buying opportunities,” Day said. In addition, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, including people who have not owned a home for the previous three years, available through Nov. 30, he said. The North Metro Realtors® Association, chartered in 1956, represents more than 2,000 members in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate. Although primarily based in the north metro area, NMRA represents realtors throughout the Twin Cities and Central Minnesota. For more information, contact NMRA at 763-757-7230. Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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