Forget the mall, shop downtown Minot and support a GREAT family owned business, Rick's Jewelry "Where you'll shimmer and shine". Rick's Jewelry is owned, managed, and run by Rick Belzer, his bride Tracy, and their family. Rick's faithfully supports the Minot community by participating in many events and of course by hiring people in Minot as well as they themselves living and shopping in Minot. Even with the construction in downtown Minot you will find it worth your while to shop at Rick's and support Minot's downtown. 07/06/2016

Bee! Actually the bee above is not that busy, he's dead. I just hit the nest with some wasp killer and instead of falling to the ground he got caught in a spider web. It must be a pretty fine web as neither the camera or I see it.Unlike the bee I'm alive and I've been extremely busy. No complaints here, quite the opposite, I'm thanking the Lord that he has greatly blessed me and National Marketing Realtors.The purpose of this post is not to brag but to explain why I've been a little less active as a blogger over the past month. I look at my blogging as a very important part of my Real Estate service. I blog to keep my clients and potential clients informed . I know that not every topic I post about is important to each reader and that is exactly why I blog a lot. The more I blog the mor... 07/05/2016

When I drove by these Hollyhocks I knew I had to make a return visit with my camera. I was not disappointed when I got a close up view to take photos. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.The tallest one is about 7 feet tall. There were 4 basic colors.   07/02/2016

This little stretch of road isn't nearly as desolate as it appears. It's right in the heart of town with a railroad track on one side and Sunnyside Elementry School a few feet ahead on the right.If you have a lot better eye than me there is a speed limit sign on the right prior to the telephone pole. In fact, if you can count the cracks in the sidewalk it's about 5 cracks (20 feet) ahead.Now we are about 10 feet away and in the middle of the road so we can see it so much better. Well there it is plain as day... if you are right up to it, stopped, in the middle of the street. Of course you should get a ticket for ignoring it!   07/02/2016

It was another "good" week, the 2nd in a row.Prices have dipped slightly overall which has boosted sales.The chart above is the total MLS activity for the week. This includes ALL types of properties as well as all cities in our MLS. The chart below is very restrictive as explained below.Today there are 272 homes for sale in Minot, ND with 138 pending sales. The most expensive home listed in Minot ND is $995,000. The least is $50,000. and the average is $266,667. Average days on the market = 82 (Median days on the market = 60).*This list is only of single-family stick built homes and does not include multifamily homes, condos, town houses, or mobile homes. Be sure to note the line above as this is a very restrictive report. There were 13 homes sold in this limited category (if we added i... 07/02/2016

Where Summer Shines, is this years theme.Summer does always seem to shine during the week of the North Dakota State Fair and I have to say this is always my favorite week of the year. Most often the weather is very cooperative, sometimes in the 70's and sometimes up to 100 degrees. Personally, I like 100 because of the way people dress when it's 100 degrees. You can always get out of the heat by taking time to view items in the venders building, 4H displays and more.Here is a 30 second fun video about the 2016 State Fair Here is a video about this years entertainment There are always special for those of us who are budget minded as well. Our family always goes on Coke day where if each member of the family brings a Coke (yes you get to keep it and drink it while at the fair) your ticket... 06/30/2016

Earlier this month it was announced that Minot may not have a fireworks show because the money that pays for it comes out of our Hotel Tax and revenues are way down.So why the sarcasm on my part? The fireworks show is always held after Racing Night at the Fair Grounds. When do the races end... around midnight to 1:00. There is no set time, they end when they end.Our kids are usually asleep by 10:00 and my bride and I are usually asleep by 10:30. There is no way in hell a responsible parent is going to keep their kids up that late hoping the races end on time so they can watch a 20 minute fireworks show.OK, I know everyone parents differently, as evidenced by the recent newspaper report of the couple who got sh*t faced in the bar for four hours and left their infants in the car when it w... 06/29/2016

New to Minot? You don't want to miss the ND State Parade. The ND State Fair Parade is held the 1st Saturday of The State Fair. This is the only parade held in Minot ND and it is huge. If you want a good seat to watch from you need to set up early. I, and many others actually set up the night before the parade by parking our vehicles along the route where we want to sit.By 8:00 AM you will be lucky to find a good shady spot. If you wait till 9:00 you will most likely find yourself parking blocks away from the parade route and having any luck finding a spot to watch from at all. Bring bags for your kids to put their candy in. My kids always got about the amount they get from Halloween times 10.Even when you are prepared be ready for those who are not. You always get a few who have an atti... 06/29/2016

Our BEST Week Yet For 2016 The chart above is the total MLS activity for the week. This includes ALL types of properties as well as all cities in our MLS. The chart below is very restrictive as explained below.Today there are 273 homes for sale in Minot, ND with 149 pending sales. The most expensive home listed in Minot ND is $995,000. The least is $50,000. and the average is $271,413. Average days on the market = 83 (Median days on the market = 59).*This list is only of single-family stick built homes and does not include multifamily homes, condos, town houses, or mobile homes. Be sure to note the line above as this is a very restrictive report. There were 14 homes sold in this limited category (the most in any week so far this year). The most expensive home sold for $650,000 and it wa... 06/25/2016

While driving out to a rural property yesterday I noticed that the Milkweeds were just starting to bloom.I immediately thought about how I should be seeing the Monarch butterflies very, very soon.It's always fun to the Monarchs appear and to see their cocoons on the Milkweeds. I remember as a child the joy of bringing one of those cocoons home and watching it hatch some time later.In posting this I thought I'd check to see what the "real" name of Milkweed is. It's Asclepias syriaca. I was also very surprised to read that this "common" weed is actually a big seller for folks buying seeds. I was also surprised that it has a tap roots and also spreads by rhizomes.It's deep roots let's it withstand drought conditions.If it is time for you to put down deep roots for your family into the Mino... 06/24/2016

5 years ago today, June 22nd 2011, is a day in Minot ND history that will never be forgotten.This is the 5th anniversary of the day the sirens were activated to warn people to get out of their homes before the worst flood in Minot history destroyed 1/4 of the homes in town displacing thousands of people (my family included).This is what my yard looked like after a month of record river flows ran through it.Minot is still recovering and even 5 years later there are many reminders around town of the devastation but all and all Minot has rebounded well.I'm going to suppress my desire to rant about how it all could have been avoided and just be thankful that this disaster is 5 years in the past. I'm thankful for the many kind hearted souls who stepped forward and helped flood victims like m... 06/21/2016

Aside from the obvious, waking up beside my stunningly beautiful Bride, I'm talking about the first flower in our yard for 2016 (aside from dandelions).I did not plant any flowers at all this year but I have planted poppies in the past and they are very good at volunteering to come back again and again. This one had perfect timing. Having raised poppies for many years I can tell you whether it is the variety with a full head like this one or the kind with 4 to 6 petals they do not withstand wind very well. I have seen flowers like this bloom and loose all there beauty within an hour in a strong wind. Today is calm, the last two days we had consistent winds in the 20 mph range with gusts over 40 mph.Timing is everything, even for flowers displaying their beauty.The Minot Real Estate Mark... 06/20/2016

This is the second good week in a row, Things are improving!The chart above is the total MLS activity for the week. This includes ALL types of properties as well as all cities in our MLS. The chart below is very restrictive as explained below.Today there are 266 homes for sale in Minot, ND with 145 pending sales. The most expensive home listed in Minot ND is $995,000. The least is $50,000. and the average is $2709,230. Average days on the market = 85 (Median days on the market = 61).*This list is only of single-family stick built homes and does not include multifamily homes, condos, town houses, or mobile homes. Be sure to note the line above as this is a very restrictive report. There were 14 homes sold in this limited category. The most expensive home sold for $578,500 and it was on t... 06/19/2016

For the 2nd Year in a roll DadFest was a GREAT success. My apologies for not bringing it to your attention until about half an hour prior to closing but now is a good time to put it on your calender for next year.DadFest is the brainchild of Minot's First Assembly Of God in coordination with a lot of volunteers and Huwe The House Mover Inc. The event is held on the Huwe's grounds, an in-town estate of about 100 acres.This in-town estate has plenty of room for horse drawn wagon rides, parking for about 1,000 cars, and all the fun shown below. Besides the wagon rides there is more food than you can find at a State Fair (and it's ALL FREE), carnival rides, bouncy houses, a frontier village, antique auto show, police and fire station demonstrations, and much, much more. EVERY thing is FREE.... 06/18/2016

Yesterday we enjoyed a walk through the Roosevelt Park Zoo thanks to our local cable company. My daughter (16 years old) works at the zoo so even she wasn't with us... she was with us. Otters playing under water.In case you can't read the plaque the bottom line really surprised me: "Great horned owls are the only animal that feeds on skunks on a regular basis.The Roosevelt park Zoo is a great little zoo and it's easy to spend half a day there taking in all the exhibits, we, the Timm family, highly recommend it. 06/17/2016

Show Us Your HomeAs my entry into the Active Rain contest, Show Us Your Home by Debbie Laity , I made this video of The North Dakota Medal Of Honor Memorial just a block from my house. I recommend muting the sound as I did not do a commentary but a screeming kid added his two cents at the end. This is a brief walk-thru of North Dakota's Medal Of Honor. The Memorial is located at the South end of Minot's Roosevelt Park. 06/14/2016

A Marked Improvement This WeekWhile I would still categorize our market as slow and a Buyers market we did see a good improvement in closings this week of single family, stick built homes with-in the City limits of Minot North Dakota. Here are the stats:The chart above is the total MLS activity for the week. This includes ALL types of properties as well as all cities in our MLS. The chart below is very restrictive as explained below. Today there are 267 homes for sale in Minot, ND with 138 pending sales. The most expensive home listed in Minot ND is $995,000. The least is $50,000. and the average is $275,164. Average days on the market = 80 (Median days on the market = 58).*This list is only of single-family stick built homes and does not include multifamily homes, condos, town houses, ... 06/11/2016

The Minot Home Builders and Local Lenders teamed up to have a "Meet & Greet" the candidates for Local, County, and State offices tonight. It was really a nice casual affair attended by Realtors, Bankers, and Home Builders.It was easy to pick out the newcomers from the seasoned politicians as they gave their introductions. Some of the youngens stumbled a bit and one old timer who has been on the council far to long droned on reliving an old JFK speech.They all did good and it was nice to see that almost no seat (City or County) was unopposed. The one category I wish I would not have missed was a judicial seat and both candidates seem very well qualified. I do have a sign in my yard for the one I'm voting for but I still would have liked to have heard their self introductions but I wanted... 06/07/2016

There is current legislation regarding flood insurance that everyone should get involved with if there is ANY chance your home our your community may be flooded.5 Years ago, nearly to the day, Canada sent flood waters down the Mouse/Souris river that they new would destroy thousands of US homes because they didn't want the flooding on their soil. The flood destroyed many communities and a fourth of Minot ND, population roughly 35,000 at the time.To date flood insurance is only available through FEMA. FEMA is talking about rates as high as $60,000. A YEAR! You will be required to have it if you have a loan on the property. Obviously no one could afford that but we are talking about a government mandate here. The current legislation would open flood insurance to private companies so FEMA ... 06/07/2016

I Didn't Think Things Could Get Slower... But They Did!The chart above is the total MLS activity for the week. This includes ALL types of properties as well as all cities in our MLS. The chart below is very restrictive as explained below.Today there are 267 homes for sale in Minot, ND with 138 pending sales. The most expensive home listed in Minot ND is $995,000. The least is $50,000. and the average is $275,164. Average days on the market = 80 (Median days on the market = 58).*This list is only of single-family stick built homes and does not include multifamily homes, condos, town houses, or mobile homes. Be sure to note the line above as this is a very restrictive report. There were 4 homes sold in this limited category. The most expensive home sold for $279,000 and it was on the mark... 06/04/2016