Beyond Realty Blog

Night on the Town

With Valentine's Day around the corner, it is time to find the perfect spot for a night out. We choose five date night spots to go to for a night out in February.

Plains Art Museum As the largest art museum in the state, the Plains Art Museum is the perfect date night escape. If you both like art, and thoughtful conversation this could be the right fit for you. The best part - it is FREE!

Cooking Class If you are looking for a unique date, try Square One Kitchens cooking classes in their commercial kitchen. It's an awesome way to spend time together and learn new things.

Fargo Force Hockey Scheels Arena offers a great atmosphere to watch hockey, meet other fans, and try some great local food options!

Pixeled Brewing & Arcade The perfect spot for a competitive date night, it is both a brewery and an arcade. Grab a drink, some change, and play a few of their 55 arcade games.

Open Mic Comedy Night: The Cellar frequently has open mic comedy night. How can date night go wrong with a few laughs!

New Year...New Opportunities

Happy New Year! The new year means new opportunities to learn, grow, and bond with the community. Below are some activities to do with your family and events to embrace the change in the weather. 

• Frostival This event is a six-week celebration of winter fun! There are over 40 different events that the whole family can join in from winter kickball to snow sculpture competitions. Do not miss out on the fun!
• MSUM Planetarium The planetarium simulates the night sky and is the perfect activity for those frosty January days! 
• Outdoor Skating Rinks There are several parks in the Fargo area that have outdoor skating rinks in the winter. 

If you are experiencing your first chilly Upper-Midwest winter, stock up on hats, gloves, scarves and Cuddl Duds (you'll thank us later for this suggestion) to keep you warm from the cold.  

Why Do People Plug in Their Cars?
If you notice cars plugged into electrical outlets with an extension cord (not an EV Charging Station), that is a car with a block heater. Block heaters are a heating element that is attached to the engine block and it warms the engine prior to starting. Cold winters can be hard on engines and you will find you need to let your car run before starting to drive. A block heater simply reduces the time your engine needs to run idle to warm up.  Visit with your favorite repair shop or car dealership if you would like one installed.

Holiday Cheer is Here

There's snow on the ground, Santa is coming to town, and the holidays are in full swing! There so many opportunities in town to experience some holiday cheer. Don't miss these events happening in December:

Holiday Lights Parade Downtown
A perfect holiday event for the whole family. Thousands of spectators line Broadway in Downtown Fargo for the night-time parade!

Have Yourself a Funky Christmas  This event showcases Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome one of Fargo's hottest classic rock, horn bands playing some Christmas classics with a fun and, and funky twist.

Santa Village at Rheault Farm Visit Santa and Mrs. Claus, a few reindeer and take part in holiday fun, decorating cookies, enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride or marveling at a model train display!

It is never too late to get some last-minute holiday shopping done! What better way to get to know your new community than to visit and support some local businesses? Here are some unique local businesses that are sure to have the perfect holiday gift!

Local Businesses To Support

Game Giant Who doesn't love puzzles, board games and unique gifts? Game Giant could be the right place to find a present for that hard-to-buy-for person.

Tootsie's Children's Boutique If you are trying to find a gift for a child, Tootsie's has great clothing, accessories and essentials for children!.

Unglued Do you love handmade?  Unglued is the local headquarters for handmade gifts and DIY kits.

Getting Out & Giving Back!

With the weather getting colder, and the holidays right around the corner you might be tempted to stay home more. Don't stay home! You will miss out on all the fun activities the Fargo-Moorhead area has to offer this time of year. Check out these fun events going on in November:

• Holiday Lights at Lindenwood Park The FM Sertoma Club hosts this magical light display each winter with local businesses and organizations sponsoring or building a display.
• Family Game Night If you're looking for an opportunity to have some family fun come join the West Fargo Park District as they host a family game night. From inflatable obstacle courses to creating your own game to bring home, there is something for everybody!
  
  
• Pride of Dakota This is the holiday showcase of all North Dakota-made products, gourmet food, jewelry, home décor, and pet items. You are sure to find the perfect gift for everybody on your holiday shopping list and gain some North Dakota pride of your own.

November is the perfect time to start looking for opportunities to give back to your community, and those who are less fortunate. Check out some of the opportunities that allow you to get to know your new community and give back.

Gourmet Soup Kitchen This is an event that benefits Churches United, Bright Sky Apartments, the Dorothy Day House, and the Dorothy Day Food Pantries. The event features more than 30 types of soups prepared by local chefs, celebrities, and Junior Chefs.  There will be auctions, awards for best soups, and opportunities for community bonding.

Share-A-Meal The Ronald McDonald House has a program called Share-A-Meal where the volunteers prepare a homecooked meal for the families. The volunteer is responsible for planning the meal and providing the grocery items for the meal. This could be the perfect opportunity for you to give back if you love cooking! They also allow people to order food from a caterer, or from a restaurant if you do not like cooking.

Personal Care Kits Salvation Army is always looking for personal care kits that they can offer to anyone who needs them. Some items they frequently need are diapers, shampoo, backpacks, sleeping bags, powder laundry detergent, toothpaste, clothing, and feminine hygiene products.

Until next month!

Pumpkin Patches & Spooky Haunts

With a bit of a chill in the air and shorter days, October is the perfect time for hoodies, hats and hot cocoa! It's also a great time to enjoy some fun with family and friends. Check out these great fall attractions:

• Buffalo River Pumpkin Patch: This is a perfect pumpkin patch for the littles in your life. It has a petting zoo, lawnmower train rides, a bale maze & a horse drawn wagon ride through a not-too-spooky forest plus great photo opps.
• Lil' Bitz Pumpkin Patch: With a ton of games, a corn maze, horse drawn wagon rides & pony rides, this patch will keep you busy for hours!
• Tim's U-Pick Pumpkin Patch: Pick your own pumpkins, squash, gourds, Indian corn & more!
• Thea's Pumpkin Patch: Find your perfect pumpkins plus games, a petting zoo, hayrides, food and 11-acre corn maze will surely provide fun!
• Haunted Farm: If scary is more your Halloween vibe, The Haunted Farm features various shocking creatures that lurk in woods, 15 energetic and spine-tingling haunted attractions, and a most hair- raising walk through the dark and dangerous woods.
• Haunted Corn Maze: whether you're looking for a fear factor or family memories, this is the place!
• Acres of Terror: Acres of Terror has everything from a scary corn maze to an old, abandoned school, all decorated and ready for tours. More than 30 actors ready to put on a show as guests come through.

As we start spending more time indoors, it's a great time to check out local arts fairs and shops to get a head start on holiday shopping.

One of the kick-offs to the season is The Big One Art & Craft Fair, held at the Fargodome each October.  The Big One includes over 320 booths showcasing hand made products from across the US.  Over 200 exhibitors will fill their booths with arts, crafts and baked goods.

For the unique gift giver, the Fargo-Moorhead area also has quite a few antique and vintage stores along some wonderful local products stores to peruse:

Antique Stores

• FARM (Fargo Antiques & Repurposed Market)
• Antique Addiction
• Aal Yours Consignments, Furniture Restoration & More
• Moorhead Antique Mall
• Reed & Taylor Antiques

Local Products Stores

• Unglued
• Grain Designs
• Dakota Timber Company
• Grateful Cratefulls
• Handpicked Goods
• Minn Dak Market

July is one of the busier months for outdoor activities in the Fargo-Moorhead area! When you have four seasons, you pack as much fun as you can into each one. 

Here are some of the premier events that happen this month!

• Red River Valley Fair: This is Fargo's version of the county fair with exhibits, rides, car races, nightly grandstand entertainment, midway shows and FAIR FOOD!
• Northwest Water Carnival: A 12-day festival in Detroit Lakes celebrating what-else but the water. From concerts to sporting tournaments to a parade to a ski show, this festival celebrates all the fun activities of a lake community!
• Fargo Street Fair: Downtown Fargo welcomes hundreds of artisans, food vendors and entertainment into the streets of Broadway for a weekend every July! 
• Fargo AirSho: Entertainment takes to the skies of Fargo-Moorhead during the annual Air Sho! The Blue Angels and USAF Thunderbirds are some of the favorites each year and there is always a great variety of aeronautics to tour and view. Even if you don't attend the Air Sho, many people have spectacular viewing opportunities in their backyards throughout the weekend!

Fresh Fare

Our days have been really long for the past month peaking with the summer solstice in June with almost 16 hours of daylight!

These long days make it a wonderful time for our gardens to grow. July is the month our gardens really start producing the good stuff!  Onions, lettuce varieties, radishes and baby red potatoes are some the first home garden crops we enjoy in the Northern Plains followed by peas, beans and carrots. Cucumbers and tomatoes are producing well by mid-to-late July.

There are many Farmers Markets in the area where you can grab all these vegetables and more! 

If you're looking for a great read on gardening in the Northern Plains, check out Successful Gardening on the Northern Prairie by Eric Bergeson, a local horticulture specialist!

Happy New Year! We would like to take this opportunity to say "Thank You" to everyone that bought and sold with Beyond Realty in 2020. It was an incredible year for sales and we are so grateful you put your trust in us and you were able to BE MOVED!

The Fargo-Moorhead Area market had its best year to date, surpassing $1 billion in sales volume for the first time. Record low rates really helped fuel housing demand. Some of the other key stats from 2020 include:

• Total Homes Sold: 4,803 - up 18.6% from 2019
• Average Sales Price: $259,026 - up 6% from 2019
• Avergage Days on the Market: 65 Days
• Current Active Listings: 739
• Months of Inventory: 2.2 Months

We've included our 2020 Market Recap and Market Update by Area. If you are unable to see the graphic, click on them for a full-size version.

With 2020 behind us, we'd like to share what's in store for 2021! All signs are pointing to a seriously GOOD seller's market this spring.

• The absorption rate, which calculates the number of months the current inventory of homes will last, is at 2 months. Our market has not seen absorption rates this low since 2013. If you have a home to list, it is a great time to get on the market!
• Buyers are buying. With our sales up over 18% in 2020, there's continued momentum of people wanting to buy homes. There are many out looking now for homes that aren't on the market.
• If you want to buy, there is good news for you, too. Combined sources estimate mortgage rates to remain around 3% in 2021.

If you are thinking about selling your home or if you're planning to buy, please reach out to us! We would love to provide you with a market analysis along with tips and tools to help with preparing your home for sale or what to do to get ready to buy.

All the best to you in 2021!