A daily journal concerning Lake Vermilion and surrounding areas
Selected real estate, notes, stories, musings, and anecdotes
------------ Comments and links welcomed ------------
Monday, February 08, 2010
Makeover 2010.
The layout and design of this website is due for a refresh. The work is underway and making solid progress but daily entries will occur at a reduced rate until the job is complete.
Most of the available properties noted on this website are from a defined segment of the total Northeastern Minnesota real estate market. That includes any properties noted as bank-owned or "REO" listings.
So... the complete list of all area bank-owned properties (from our MLS system) is not normally revealed here.
Until now.
I have assembled the complete list of bank-owned properties currently on our local Multiple Listing Service. This is a group of 35 listings and you can view it here.
Sign up for "A.Word.A.Day" at Wordsmith.org and you get exactly that. You will receive, via email, a new word everyday.
Today's word was "oligopoly". You pronounce that "ol-i-GOP-uh-lee".
Oligopoly is a noun that describes a market condition where there are few sellers and many buyers. The current real estate market is NOT an oligopoly.
Fortunately, the folks at "A.Word.A.Day" provide the word with the opposite meaning. That word would be "oligopsony". You pronounce that "ol-i-GOP-so-nee". Oligopsony is a noun that describes a market condition where there are a few buyers and many sellers.
Here's a list that reveals a descriptive word for other market conditions.
monopoly: one seller, many buyers duopoly: two sellers, many buyers oligopoly: a few sellers, many buyers monopsony: one buyer, many sellers duopsony: two buyers, many sellers oligopsony: a few buyers, many sellers
The Minneapolis Star Tribune has published an editorial on the proposed Lake Vermilion State Park that begins with this…
"In characteristic understatement, Minnesota actually has about 12,000 lakes -- not the 10,000 listed on our license plates. But when asked, many Minnesotans are less reserved about which lake most evokes the postcard image of the rugged beauty of Lake Country. Lake Vermilion, located just a bit south of northern Minnesota's Superior National Forest and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, is usually close to the top of the list."
As a follow-up to last week's announcement from Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty regarding the agreement to purchase the land associated with the proposed Lake Vermilion State Park… here are the links from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources that will answer common questions about the future Park.
Here is one final graphic to help illustrate how the 2009 sales year compared to the previous 4 years. The graph illustrates the average selling prices for 6 separate property types in the Lake Vermilion area real estate market.
The key word related to this graph is "average". Please bear in mind that the individual selling prices covered a very wide range.
The graphic also notes the total number of completed sales for each year for each property type.
Please let me know If you have in interest in the specific numbers related to this information.
Northern Community Radio Station, KAXE-FM, has long enjoyed an association with John Latimer. John is a dedicated phenologist. Please enjoy his January edition of the Northern Minnesota Phenology Report here.
If I would have thought ahead I would have had those two projects on my 2010 (twenty ten) New Years Resolution List. And now… I could have checked those two items from the List for additional gratification.
Too late now. Opportunity lost.
Please click on both of those links and review the refreshed information. 2010 (twenty ten) is going to bring renewed and attractive opportunities for Lake Vermilion area real estate buyers. It would be advisable for all serious buyers to start their own New Years List of Desirable Properties for consideration and action.
A well maintained Property List could lead to the additional gratification of a completed purchase...
I think 2010 (twenty ten) has pre-billed itself as a year of promise and potential. Let's hope it lives up the positive expectations.
The Lake Vermilion area real estate market has reset itself for the new year. The available inventory adjusts to first of the year levels as some sellers remove their property from the MLS systems. (We saw an overall inventory reduction of about 17% on January 1st.) Prospective buyers should be alert to returning or new opportunities as the inventory rebuilds in the coming weeks and months.
I'll probably continue to comment on my observations of the local real estate market as we work towards warmer weather. (At the current -30°F we have a lot of upside in the warmer weather department.)
Please let me know if I can help you with your real estate transaction in 2010 (twenty ten).
Although this website is not the place where you seek the latest on trending topics, such as national health care reform, this short National Geographic article and associated graphic is just too eye-popping not to pass along (regardless of your position on the subject).
The information illustrates how the US of A compares to other countries in "cost of health versus life expectancy".
The most revealing information is within the graphic so be sure click the "enlarge" link or just go here.
Here are a number of items that found their way to the ol' desktop but did not quite make that final leap to blogdom. Enjoy or not.
The Muskellunge is one of Lake Vermilion's most sought after game fish. Here are several renditions of the Musky in cartoon form. If you are in the market for a unique fireplace… check out this collection of 15 unique designs. This describes no one I know. Tickle the virtual ivories here. I'm pretty sure all normally constructed people have one of these. I suppose most families could send an appropriate contribution to this website. Left versus Right... a graphic to explain the differences. Americans never see this view from the Canadian side.
As noted below, the school district serving the Lake Vermilion area will soon begin a near $80 million dollar project to construct and/or renovate school structures.
The two towns serving Lake Vermilion will see significant changes to their existing facilities. The Town of Cook with have a new K-12 school constructed just west of the town that will serve the Cook/Orr student base. The Town of Tower will have the existing school renovated into an elementary school.
If you are a property owner within the ISD 2142 School District, your property taxes will increase.
The School District has provided a worksheet to estimate the impact on your current property tax rate.
(For a quick estimate of your estimated annual property tax impact, skip to Step 3 and type in your Taxable Market Value. This thorough worksheet also provides for additional information regarding the effect the tax increase will have on state tax refunds and your state and federal taxes.)
Voters narrowly approve a plan to reconfigure the ISD 2142 school system. The $78.8 million dollar project passed on a 52% to 48% margin. The School District website has the preliminary vote numbers.
Vote Tomorrow!
The public school system that surrounds Lake Vermilion is St. Louis County Independent School District 2142.
This large and widely dispersed district is confronted with a persistent and growing problem… decreasing enrollment.
The ISD 2142 School Board has wrestled with this issue of decreasing resources for several years but tomorrow a recommended solution to the problem will be put to the voter. It's a controversial situation with a broad range of factors requiring consideration.
Unfortunately, there is no perfect answer and universal agreement to "a best solution" is not possible.
There is no reason to be uninformed about the Board's suggested solution and associated Special Bond Referendum. There is plenty of information available online… Minnesota Public Radio has an excellent summary (including helpful graphics), ISD 2142 has complete details of the current proposal, local newspaper, The Timberjay, has numerous articles on the Referendum.
Exercise your democratic privilege and vote. The polls will be open tomorrow from 7AM to 8PM.
Are you wondering if there is new ice in front of your Lake Vermilion cabin? One of these Lake Vermilion webcams might help you stay informed about the status of the 2009 freeze-up.
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