Photo courtesy of Ping News
Some rights reserved
The dust is settling from the long slide that the Twin Cities real estate market has been through, but we have a ways to go before we are safe at home. At first glance the numbers for the past six weeks look great, with new listings way down and pending sales just 30 purchase agreements behind the same six week period last year. Taking a closer look we see that 27.9% of these sales were bank mediated, either foreclosures or short sales! This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on traditional sellers who have seen a 21% drop in buyer activity versus the same six week period last year. The upside is that bank involved properties are selling and the market will have a much better shot at stability once these properties are absorbed. Versus the same six week period last year, sales of lender mediated properties increased an astonishing 284.5%!

For the week ending June 14, 2008 the Twin Cities real estate market saw 2,023 new listings, down 13.6% versus the same week last year (2,341). This is the 10th consecutive week of double digit decreases which is absolutely unheard of for a spring market in the Twin Cities. Pending sales made a comback with 904 new purchase agreements, up 3.8% versus the same week last year (871). Average days on market remains at 159, percent of list price received remains at 92.6%, and the Housing Affordabilty Index* is holding at an impressive 149.

Market Report for Minneapolis

Market Report for St. Paul

Market Report for Mounds View

Market Report for New Brighton

Would you like a real estate Market Report for your area? Just let me know, I will gladly forward you a Market Report for your community. Over 125 Twin Cities communities available!

*The HAI formula measures housing affordability for the Minneapolis/St. Paul market. An HAI of 149 means the median family income is 149% of the necessary income to qualify for the median priced home using a 20% down payment, 30-year fixed mortgage.