Trying to downsize your home? Good luck with that

Empty nesters who are thinking they have too much house are finding it isn't all that easy to move to a smaller place. Lynn Cordova of Apple Valley knows that. About a year ago, she was looking ahead to being alone in her four-bedroom, three-bath house in Eagan.

"It was a little more house [than I needed]. Too many stairs, just a lot going on, trying to take care of the yard, trying to shovel the driveway, things like that," she said.

Cordova ended up moving to a two-bedroom single-level town home in Apple Valley. But the hunt for a new place took almost a year because there was so much competition. Single-level homes and town homes that were interesting to Cordova drew buyers immediately.

"They were sold before I even got in the door," she said.