Real Estate Blog

The Kris Lindahl Team with Kris Lindahl Real Estate is committed to giving back to the community and we do so in a variety of ways. What’s amazing to us is how many others want to do the same, yet don’t know how to get started. Sure, there are civic clubs one can join, but how else, they ask us, can they become more involved in their community – and really make a difference?

We’ve come up with several organizations that can really use your help.

1. Help the Former Homeless Furnish their Homes

Bloomington is home to Bridging, a non-profit organization that “improves lives by providing quality furniture and household goods to those transitioning out of homelessness and poverty.” They do this through the effective use of donated items. So

 A couple of months ago I was tooling around the MLS, searching for homes for sale in Bloomington for a client. I came across an interesting listing that just happened to be one of the lowest price homes in the Bloomington real estate market. It was being sold by the homeowner, which is commonly known as a for-sale-by-owner, or FSBO, for short.

Not too long ago, FSBOs weren’t allowed to use the MLS but today there are companies that will sell a homeowner a listing on it. It’s a pity they don’t also counsel these people on how to actually use the MLS effectively. Instead, it’s pathetically easy to tell which homes are FSBOs without even looking for a listing agent on the site.

There is some truth to the opinion most in the industry have that

In some places, people whine about snowy, cold weather and count the days until the warmth of spring. Bloomington is not one of those places. Here are seven ways to have outdoor fun this winter:

1. Ice skating -- There are 13 outdoor ice rinks and warming houses in the city of Bloomington’s parks and recreation division, although the unseasonably warm weather so far has kept them from opening. But how much longer can that last, really? Until the temperatures drop, enjoy indoor skating year ‘round at Bloomington Ice Garden, one of the venues for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships Jan. 15-24.
2. Broomball – Although registration deadlines have passed for some broomball leagues, there could still be some openings on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays,

Oh, boy, I pity the homebuyer looking for a home for sale in Bloomington. I feel your pain – there’s not a lot on the market right now and still lots of competition for homes that are in good condition.

Let’s take a look at what happened in November’s Bloomington real estate market and some items of interest on a year-end basis. (Remember, our local MLS monthly releases are statistics from the previous month).

Bloomington’s median sale price

The median sale price of a home in Bloomington increased just more than 5 percent over this time last year and now sits at $213,000. Good news for Bloomington homeowners who are thinking of selling their homes in the near future: the year-to-date median price is $219,000, a nearly 8 percent increase over

We are knee-deep in the winter holiday season. In fact, tonight is the last night of the “Jewish Festival of Lights” so we want to wish everyone a Happy Hannukah! There are still many, many holiday events to come, however, and since we’re fortunate enough to live in Bloomington, we have an amazing venue right out our backdoors.

Toddler Tuesdays

If your child hasn’t experienced “Sarah’s Dream” tomorrow is the last chance to do so. Performed by the St. Paul Ballet Company, this is a showcase of scenes from their upcoming Nutcracker performance. Shows are at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. tomorrow, December 15 in the rotunda (East Broadway entrance) at Mall of America®.

Photos with Santa

Grab the kid, his or her wish list and head out to MOA to meet

So much news and so little time to keep up with all of it! The holiday season is definitely upon us so today we present a sort of hodge-podge of news items and events from around Bloomington.

Be a Posh Mommy

Attend the Posh Mommy Holiday Party on December 10 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. You can enjoy shopping, sipping, mingling and giveaways, all while benefitting the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.

This event is being held at Posh Mommy headquarters, 7800 Metro Parkway, Suite 104 in Bloomington. For more information call 248-722-1997.

Water, water everywhere

Yet we’ll be paying more for it next year, according to the Sun Current. Your rate hike will depend on how much water you use, but plan on it being between 7 and

As we head into the winter and folks are considering dropping out of the homebuying pool to wait it out we’re frequently asked what will happen if they wait until next year to buy. If only the Lindahl Team had a real estate crystal ball and we could cut right to the chase to tell you what’s going to happen in the Bloomington real estate market. Instead, we have to rely on economic forecasts and our MLS statistics for any trends we might see. We can, however, get pretty close to a prediction with those tools. So, let’s dive in.

The U.S. economy is either going gangbusters with a rosy outlook or it’s just mediocre, depending on whom you ask. Those with money in the stock market will tell you it’s just so-so while anyone that works for the government

What better organization to spotlight at the holidays than one that helps kids enjoy this time of year? Although the Twin Cities Toys for Tots Campaign began in October, it doesn’t end until December 19th so you still have time to help out.

Toys for Tots dates back to 1947 when a lady in Los Angeles made a doll and asked her husband, Major Bill Hendricks, USMCR, to take it to an organization that would give it to a needy child. The problem was, Bill couldn’t find such an organization so his wife, Diane, suggested that he start one.

The Major and a group of Marine Reservists collected toys and distributed them that Christmas. The following year the Marine Corps took over the toy drive, took it nationwide and Toys for Tots was born.

Since its

This month, the Kris Lindahl Team salutes Bloomington’s Valley View Middle School. With a total enrollment of 728 students and 55 full-time teachers, the school has a student-teacher ratio of about 13:1.

Extra-Curricular Offerings

Valley View Middle School offers students a long list of activities and clubs in which they’re invited to participate. These include honors orchestra, the math team, snowriders club, TV-Morning News Crew and more.

If it’s athletics your student is interested in, she or he can participate in cross-country, football, volleyball, track and more.

Rankings and Test Scores

In 2015, school rankings site SchoolDigger.com ranks Valley View Middle School 383 of 519 public middle schools in Minnesota.

On this year’s

One of the most popular blog topics here on BloomingtonHomesforSale.com is when we write about bargains in the local real estate market. So, today I searched the MLS and, sure enough, I found some very low-priced condos for sale in Bloomington.

I looked first at how long they’ve been on the market and many of them have been sitting for quite some time. In fact, the lowest priced condo has been on the market for almost a year. Now why, I thought to myself, is that?

I sleuthed

So, I then looked at the photos to see if there was anything there that might explain why an $80,000 condo in Bloomington isn’t flying off the market. Aside from a very dated kitchen with a missing refrigerator I didn’t see any obvious flaws.

Then, it grabbed me -