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Real Estate in Otter Tail County is still on the rise. While areas like Fergus Falls kept pace with the state, lake areas including Battle Lake, Clitheral and Henning saw more significant growth. Bolstered by a good economy and moderate job increases, expect trends to continue upward. Find out what that means for buying and selling in the coming year.

It’s close enough to the end of the year to predict our lakes area real estate market has achieved another year of growth. The median home value in Otter Tail County closely mirrors the state, with OTC coming in at $210,600 vs. $211,600 statewide.

However, Otter Tail County home values have risen higher than the statewide average, going up 6.8% over the past year, while the state increased only 6%. The median price of homes currently listed in Otter Tail County is $165,000. Areas with significant shoreline, such as around West and East Battle, Clitherall, Blanche and Otter Tail lakes, have seen even greater increases. Home values have gone up 8.3% over last year in both Henning and Battle Lake, with the median home value in Battle Lake rising to $274,500, or $159 per square foot, which is higher than Fergus Falls and statewide average of $80 sf.

Overall, homes sold in less time and for closer to asking price. The economy helped the housing market through low unemployment and moderate job and wage growth. 2017 will mark the sixth year of rising home prices. The biggest challenge facing the market last year- lack of inventory- is not likely to get much better soon. While this can be frustrating to buyers, it is also a challenge for sellers looking to purchase their next home in a low inventory market.

Though we saw an interest rate hike this month, the average 30-year fixed mortgage at just over 4% is still well below its long-term average of around 8.0%. Buyers should keep in mind that the Fed plans three more rate hikes in 2018, and plan accordingly.

Whether buying or selling, please contact us for a specific market analysis for the area you are interested in, to get the best value for your real estate investment.

Your real estate agent is the best source of information about the local community and real estate topics. Call Tom Verhelst at 218-205-2604 | Karen Zell at 218-731-6836 to learn more about local areas, discuss selling a house, or tour available homes for sale.

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