July residential building activity in the Twin Cities was down slightly compared to the same month last year, according to the Builders Association of the Twin Cities

Twin Cities builders were granted 230 permits in July 2010, down from 238 in July 2009. The number of permitted housing units in the metro area also fell to 265, down from 269. July building activity was also down compared to June, when builders received 246 units for 341 housing units.

Blaine led the Twin Cities area in building activity in July. The city had 28 units permitted. Builders like Norton Homes Inc. are constructing brand new homes in highly-demanded developments like Legacy Creek and Blaine Haven.

Maple Grove came in second, with 27 units. Woodbury, Hugo and Savage complete the top five.

A recent report shows that interest rates for mortgages are affordably low. FreeRateUpdate.com researches over 2 dozen wholesale lenders’ rate sheets on a daily basis to determine the most accurate rates available.

Conventional 30-year fixed mortgages are still available at 4.375% for well-qualified consumers. 15-year fixed mortgages remain available at 3.875%. Even 30-year fixed jumbo loans are available today at 5.375%.

FHA mortgage rates at a similar rate, with 30-year fixed FHA loans offered at a 4.375% rate. APR for FHA loans is higher, though, because of MI and other FHA fees. Still, because of its minimum down-payment of just 3.5%, FHA loans have been most popular among home-buyers.

Wells Fargo, which originates the greatest volume of new mortgages, recently advertised a 30-year fixed-rate of 4.75% with an APR of 4.939.

Thinking of buying or building a home? Even if the federal first time home buyer credit and the related credit for next-home seekers isn’t available, interest rates are low enough to make it worth your while.

Check it out! The new homes being constructed at the Legacy Creek housing development in Blaine, MN, are going up rather quickly now.

3525 126th Ave NE, Blaine MN

The exterior of the home at 3525 126th Ave NE in Blaine is almost done. You can see the siding is up, but plastic over the windows, doors, and garage indicate that part of the building process isn’t done yet.

3524 127th Ave NE, Blaine MN

The homes at 3524 and 3521 127th Ave NE in Blaine MN walls are about neck-and-neck in terms of construction stages.

3521 127th Ave NE, Blaine MN

The walls are complete, or nearly complete, the shingles are on, and siding should be going up on them pretty soon.

3512 127th Ave NE, Blaine MN

Construction on the new home located at 3512 127th Ave NE in Blaine is trucking right along, too. As you can see, a lot of the siding is up and plastic on the walls indicates that windows, doors, and the garage door will be coming shortly, too.

All in all, Legacy Creek is really beginning to look like a the neighborhood it intends to be!

Hope you had happy holidays and a Happy New Year! It has been a few weeks since we posted an update about what is building up at Legacy Creek in Blaine, MN. Most of us may have taken a long holiday, but our home builders didn’t. Check out what they’ve been up to!

Two of the homes we first visited during construction have come a long way. The framing is done, walls are up, time to start putting in exteriors and interiors!

Two of the homes that we visited at Legacy Creek were just pits in the ground last time we wrote a post. Well, as you can see, framing on both of them has started.

Building these 4 homes seems to be moving right along. The 2 homes already completed in the background are already purchased and inhabited. The construction of a brand new community is happening right now in Blaine MN!

Earlier this week we shared pictures of the 4 new houses Norton Homes is in the process of building in Blaine’s Legacy Creek development. Construction on these homes is happening very quickly and we are very happy to be able to show you just how fast the process is going.

This future home located at 3512 127th Ave NE in Blaine was just a hole in the ground in the last set of pictures. Heck. there were still construction workers on site helping to dig it out. Now you can see the foundation is poured.

Pictures of 3521 127th Ave show that almost all of the framing has already been put up! Soon enough, some of these pictures will show the insides of the homes as they begin to take shape.

Here you can see the foundation poured at 3524 127th Ave NE in Blaine MN. Interest in these Legacy Creek homes is hopping, that’s why Norton Homes is in such a rush to get them done. What better way to begin the New Year than to plan to live in a new neighborhood?

With all the snow and slush out there, construction will likely slow for the holiday, but it will be cranking right back up next week. Have a happy holiday! Stay safe and warm!