Third Quarter Market Update

Sales activity in the Twin Cities housing market in August showed a 15 percent increase in pended sales year-over-year for the second consecutive month. And the good news is that the number of homes for sale in the 13 county metro area is down 9.2 percent from August of last year. This trend is what we need to have continue to help stabilize home prices.

In September, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®, we saw large increases in activity in the lower price ranges. This is most likely the result of foreclosure and short sale activity as well as widespread discounting. In September, the absorption rate was 9.9 months. This is even with last year and the first time in four years that there hasn’t been a year-over-year increase. Affordability also bodes well for the housing market. With decline in interest rates and price pressures, affordability is 19 percent ahead of last year at this time.

These past few weeks we have experienced an economic hiccup and the total effect on the housing market is still unknown. Financial institution bankruptcy, money market concerns, government bail outs --- we expect all of this to affect our industry. Some anticipate mortgage rates to go down even further and in the short term, we see credit standards holding steady and very likely to continue to tighten.

Click here to see the closed transactions for the past 12 months.