June statistics are out and they are painful.  June 2010 pending sales we down 40.4 percent compared to June 2009.  Average sales price though is up 5%!  Sellers listen up, now more than ever you will have to price your home correctly right from the get go.  No testing the market!  Also condition is very important.  Buyers want move in ready, so take care of all those buyers objections before the home hits the market.  Check out the full June statistics at Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors website. 

Kudos to Eden Prairie who was named #1 in Money Magazines as the best place to live for 2010.  Also notable mentions #11 Plymouth, #13 Woodbury, #15 Eagan, #20 Apple Valley.

Phoebe is also wondering, where are all the showings?

Here we are in June a little over a month since the tax credit has expired and many of you are asking what has happened to the real estate market?  First the tax credit did increase sales at record numbers, with many homes going in multiple offers.  Then May 1st came around and bam the market stopped and throughout May pending sales took a nose dive.  It is now the May tax credit hangover, but just like a greasy burger, orange juice and time work for a human hangover the same holds true for the market.  Time will work it’s magic and we will get back to some normalcy in the market place. Yes showings were down in May, but come June 1st they started to rise again.  To see all the statistics for May check out the monthly report from MAAR.  

Also check out the monthly skinny report for June and the weekly market report.

The tax credit has come to an end and the housing market is reaping the rewards.  The April median sales price has gone up 11% compared to April 2009.  Thanks Pioneer Press for reporting about the  positive turn in the real estate market.  For those who would like to view the entire report check out Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® April Recap. 

Stay tuned to see will happen this summer with the housing market.  My prediction is that we may see a small lull in May then the market will heat back up this summer, thanks to great interest rates and fabulous deals out there for the taking!

Weekly Market Activity Report for April 26th, 2010

As many of you know I took a brief hiatus to have a baby!  Phoebe Helen (family name, not named after the character on Friends) was born October 15, 2009.  Funny how this date is significant when it comes to property/real estate, fyi, your second half of property taxes are due that day.    

Newborn picture                  Phoebe at baptismal in her bonnet, too cute            

Ok enough baby talk let’s get back to real estate.  When I left the market in October it was crazy busy with the first time homebuyer money set to expire November 30th.  John Gladis was filling in for me while I was gone and was working long days to get it all done.  Thanks John for all your hard work!  Then December came……….screeeeech, a true holiday slow down.  This isn’t too uncommon for the month of December, but people continue to buy and sell in December, see my previous post. 

Now fast forward to March 2010, the market has heated up to a rapid boil.  There are now tax credits for repeat buyers along with first time homebuyers.  New listings and pending sales are on the rise.  Currently there is a 6 months supply of homes (which indicates we are in a balanced market), for more stats click on the Weekly Market Activity Report.  I will be taking time to blog in between feedings, diaper changes and writing offers so check back often. 

I am coming off maternity leave long enough to post this weeks weekly market activity report.  I just couldn’t resist.  Thanks to Mark Allen for this Real Estate version of “Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the market,
Realtors were selling houses in the Twin Cities, some wearing parkas.

For the week ending December twelfth there was such a clatter,
Pending sales flattened out, unlike a step ladder.

542 for the week, which was 2.5 percent under last year,
When market volatility was in the stratosphere.

New listings were down to a more normal fashion,
With 1,028 added this week, a stable ration.

Santa may be bringing sellers some Christmas luck,
With the laws of supply and demand in flux.

“On Original Price, on Days on Market!” he calls,
But Housing Affordability makes sellers feel mighty tall.

With just one week left in the year 2009,
The Twin Town Market looks to end just fine.

Click Here, for the Full Market Report courtesy of MAAR.

Wishing you Merry Christmas and a prosperous and joyful New Year. 

Reprinted from The Skinny Blog from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors:

Neighborhoods Where Traditional Homes Are In Shortest Supply

Last week we looked at which neighborhoods were seeing their inventory of available foreclosures and short sales dwindling. The general conclusion: lender-mediated properties are going fast and buyers have to be quick and aggressive to secure them.

This week we’re looking at the other side of the coin: homes listed by traditional sellers. In general, these properties are not selling quite as quickly than their cheaper lender-mediated cousins and are still facing challenging conditions. As of September 1 there was 10.1 months of traditional supply compared to 4.0 months of lender-mediated supply.

But there are some areas where traditional properties are moving relatively quickly. Let’s take a look at the Top 30 neighborhoods by Months Supply of Inventory. You’ll probably notice some patterns. Think urban and first-ring suburban, dudes:

Homes Listed by Traditional Sellers              Months Supply    Active Listings

1  303 - MPLS - Longfellow                               2.7                     55

2  744 - SP-Como                                              3.8                     51

3  361 - Crystal                                                 4.0                     62

4  304 - MPLS - Nokomis                                   4.3                     192

5  750 - SP-Mac/Groveland/River Road             4.4                    72

6  363 - Brooklyn Center                                   4.8                    73

7  378 - Richfield                                               4.9                    118

8  306 - MPLS - Northeast                                  5.1                    123

9  752 - SP-Highland Area                                   5.1                   82

10  308 - MPLS - Powderhorn                             5.7                   92

11  379 - Bloomington-East                                6.0                   93

12  362 - New Hope                                            6.1                   60

13  602 - South St. Paul                                      6.1                   67

14  360 - Robbinsdale                                         6.1                   72

15  746 - SP-St. Anthony/Midway                       6.2                  69

16  310 - MPLS - University                                 6.4                  42

17  309 - MPLS - Southwest                                6.4                  287

18  748 - SP-Town & Country                              6.5                  41

19  301 - MPLS - Camden                                     6.8                  150

20  742 - SP-Central                                             7.0                  70

21  738 - SP-Home Croft/W 7Th                           7.0                  30

22  768 - Fridley                                                   7.1                  85

23  770 - Hilltop/Columbia Heights                      7.2                  78

24  771 - Spring Lake Park                                   7.3                   22

25  766 - Moundsvw/New Brightn/St.Anthony   7.3                   150

26  391 - Saint Louis Park                                    7.4                   301

27  702 - Falcon Hghts/Lauderdale/Roseville      7.5                    159

28  716 - SP-Hillcrest/Hazel Park/Dayton’s Bluff 7.5                    191

29  720 - SP-Southeast St. Paul                          7.5                    39

30  714 - SP-Phalen                                             7.5                    113

There’s not a second- or third-ring suburb in the bunch. You’ll also notice that these neighborhoods tend not to contain too many expensive homes. The median prices in these neighborhoods tend to fall in the low-to-mid ranges that are affordable to a larger swath of home buyers. And when you think about perhaps the largest factor driving buyer demand right now, it makes a lot of sense: the first-time home buyer tax credit, dummy.

Let me show you what I mean:

I’d call that a pattern.

First-time home buyers are extremely active due to the tax credit and—unless mom and dad have chipped in a ridiculous amount of money to help—first-time home buyers don’t typically buy homes in the $500,000 and above price range.

What we’ve got is an extremely bottom-heavy market (insert inappropriate metaphor here) with robust activity in the price ranges typically populated by first-time buyers, and a declining market still searching for a bottom in the higher price ranges.

Takeaway: traditional home sellers in the mid-to-low price ranges have a serious window of opportunity for the next month to find a willing buyer, especially with foreclosure inventory becoming so scarce. When the tax credit expires in November, the landscape might look a little different.

Check out what is happening in the real estate market.  Good news for homes priced under $150,000.  Median sales price on the rise.

Median Sales Price

Lender Mediated $125,000

Traditional Sellers $209,000

 

The September Housing Supply Outlook is online now. As usual, here’s a few quick takeaways from this hyper-detailed look at the Twin Cities housing market.

Takeaway #1: The single-family detached market segment is rapidly approaching a balanced equilibrium. There are currently 6.3 months of supply available in that segment compared to 8.0 and 11.7 months in the townhome and condominium segments, respectively. The lower price ranges of the single-family detached segment are actually now extreme seller’s markets, with only 2.3 months of supply available under $120,000, for example.

Takeaway #2: Sales continue to boom below $200,000 as first-time buyers move to take advantage of the final days of the federal tax credit. Expect sales to continue at a brisk pace for the next two months as the "last call before bar close" buyers take advantage of the final days of this substantial market incentive.

Click here to view the September Housing Supply Outlook.

Months Supply of Inventory by Property Type:

Thanks to The Skinny Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors and Jeff Allan

From Mark Allen at the Minneapolis Association of Realtors

The August Monthly Skinny Video is live up online. This month’s edition is another quickfire update on trends in the Twin Cities housing market, this time narrated by our CEO, Mark Allen (no relation, seriously, for the last time).

There’s a lot of reasons for optimism, as some key market metrics are showing signs of rebound. However, there’s still more foreclosures than anyone’s comfortable with and the upper price brackets are unfortunately fairly quiet. The video explains.

Click here to view in a separate window, or just click on the embedded clip below

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