Current Conditions Blog by Mike Chance
February 1, 2012 - Ramsey County foreclosures were down 20.2 percent in 2011. There were 2609 foreclosures in 2010 compared to 2082 in 2011. The year 2008 saw the highest number of foreclosures coming in at 3023. So from the 2008 peak we experienced 32% less foreclosures in 2011. While we are trending in the right direction, forclosures continue to affect the market significantly.
October 20, 2011 - Nationwide, 2.19 million homes were listed for sale at the end of September, a drop of 20 percent compared to a year earlier, marking the lowest level on record since REALTOR.com began tracking housing inventory data in 2007. All 146 markets that REALTOR.com tracks saw housing inventory fall year-over-year, except for Denver and El Paso, Texas. Listings were down by 49 percent in Miami, 48 percent in Phoenix, and 46 percent in Orlando, Fla.
October 18, 2011 - Current interest rates are still near historic lows, but maybe have reached a near-term bottom.
July 15, 2011 - Pending sales in the 13-county metropolitan area rose 48 percent last month over June 2010, with 4,492 signed purchase agreements. Real estate agents attribute this dramatic increase to a sharp drop in sales after the 2010 federal tax credit expired, combined with the increasing affordability of homes. Sellers remained wary, with new listings falling 6 percent from a year ago, to 6,942.
March 14, 2011 - The number of foreclosure notices filed in February declined 14 percent compared with last month, and foreclosure notices dropped 27 percent compared to last year at this time. That marks the largest year-over-year decline that RealtyTrac, a foreclosure tracking site, has ever recorded.
December 30, 2010 - Housing affordability continues to float at or near historical all-time highs.
June 10, 2010 - The median sales price in the 13-county metro area for May increased 6.1 percent over the same time last year, to $175,000, with gains in foreclosure sale values outweighing year-to-year price declines for traditional and short sales. But pending sales, posting gains only in short sales, dropped by 21.6 percent to 3,551 in May compared to 4,532 in May 2009. New listings, at 6,335 in May, dropped by about 22.4 percent from one year prior.
June 7, 2010 - April existing-home sales rose 7.6 percent from the previous month to a sales pace of 5.77 million units, with buyers motivated by the tax credit, improving confidence, and favorable affordability conditions, NAR says. Sales were almost 23 percent higher than at the same time last year. "No doubt there will be some temporary fallback in the months immediately after the home buyer tax credit expires," says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
April 12, 2010 - March closed home sales are up 6.48 percent from a year ago. The median sales price of $165,000 is up 7.1% from a year ago. This is the third consecutive month where prices have increased. Pending sales are up 14.6 percent from a year ago. The supply of inventory at the end of March stands at 5.3 months versus 7.1 months a year ago. Average number of days on the market has fallen from 79 in March 2009 to 71 days in March 2010. All of this data clearly points to market stabilization in the 13 county metro area. One big question is...what will happen once the first time homebuyer tax credit expires at the end of April?
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.
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