Helpful Local Information

Current Conditions Blog by Mike Chance

Feb 10, 2010 - Inventory of homes for sale drops 18% in past year; prices tick up.  The median sales price for the 13-county metro area was $157,000 in January, up 1.3 percent from $155,000 a year ago. It was the first time in 41 months that the median sales price increased when compared to the same period a year earlier.

Click here for complete news release:
http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2010/02/08/daily22.html?ed=2010-02-10&ana=e_du_pub

Nov 11, 2009 - The new tax credit extends the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit to April 30, 2010 and expands it to all home buyers who have lived in their home a minimum of five years and gives them a $6,500 tax credit.  Pending sales for October 09 were up 34.4 percent over the same time last year. October closed home sales are up 27.8 percent from October 08.  Year to date closed home sales for the 13 county metro are up 13.42 percent from 2008.  Active listing inventory continues to drop off with a decrease of 22 percent in inventory in the past year.

September 10, 2009 - The median sales price in the Twin Cities 13-county metro area housing market rose 2.3 percent in August to $175,000.  This is the highest median sales price reported for the 13 county metro since the 2008 year end report. Pending sales continue to outpace 2008 as buyers continue to take advantage of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit, and with very favorable interest rates. In August 09 there was an 11 percent increase over August 08.  Pending sales during the first eight months of this year have trended u[ strongly with an increase of 18.3 percent over the same time last year. Listing inventory continues its downward trend as it has been for the past 20 months with 11.7 percent fewer listings compared to August 08. Finally, there were 14.5 percent more home sales closed this August than in August 08.

August 21, 2009 - For the first time in years, existing home sales have increased for four months in a row.
Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million units in July from a level of 4.89 million in June. Sales are 5.0 percent above the 4.99 million-unit pace in July 2008. The last time sales rose for four consecutive months was in June 2004, and the last time sales were higher than a year earlier was November 2005. Locally, closed home sales in July 2009 were up an astounding 25.6% from July of 2008.

August 10, 2009 - Forclosures hit record nationally...waiting for local numbers on July home sales.
Nationally, foreclosures were up in July with a record number of notices recorded nationwide.  While the usual suspects (California, Nevada, Florida) were partly responsible, other states are now starting to show sharp increases, largely due to the employment situation.  While increases in subprime defaults have leveled off,  defaults in prime mortgages seem to be on the rise.

June 12, 2009 - Forclosures Continue to Dwindle
Local area foreclosures continue to trend downward as represented in the lower number of foreclosed homes available through Freddie Mac and HUD.  Freddic Mac numbers are down approximately 30 percent from recent highs, and the number of HUD foreclosures is down drastically in the north Metro.   Where there used to be over 100 HUD-sponsored listings, there are now less than half of that available for purchase currently.  Many realtor-assisted foreclosure sales are also seeing multiple bids for purchase.