By David Arbit on Wednesday, April 27th, 2016

We don’t often talk about the national housing market, because, well, that isn’t really a thing. You read that right. There is no national housing market! The same way there is no national weather forecast. You don’t grab an umbrella in Miami based on the weather in Seattle, do you? So why would you base a decision to buy or sell real property in Minneapolis on data from Phoenix, Cleveland, Las Vegas and St. Louis? You wouldn’t. Because that would be silly.

So from the standpoint of a family or individual in the midst of a local decision-making process, national data is more or less worthless. Worse, it can actually lead to negative outcomes if a local decision was made based on national figures. Perhaps a Case-Shiller report showed that home prices are rising across their 20-city composite index. But that doesn’t mean prices are rising in every neighborhood or city, or even a particular section of a neighborhood. However, when it comes to bench-marking how we’re doing in Minnesota against other states, national-scale market data can play a marginally useful role.

The folks at Keeping Current Matters (KCM) have taken information from NAR’s Monthly REALTOR® Confidence Survey to generate a heat map showing hot spots and cold spots around the country. The darkest blue represents states where homes sell quickly (30 days and under). The darkest orange represents states where homes tend to sell in over 90 days.

As you can see (and as most agents know), Minnesota homes tend to sell quickly. Our state is in the top quintile, among a group of only five other states. It’s a safe bet that our acute inventory shortage plays a large role in this dynamic, but our extremely competitive labor market, attractive business climate, affordable housing stock, high quality of life, diversity, top-notch schools and our treasured parks and water bodies also play a big role in attracting and keeping people here. That translates into strong demand for housing, which—when combined with very low supply levels—means homes tend to sell pretty quickly.

From The Skinny Blog.

By Aubray Erhardt on Wednesday, January 20th, 2016

At a press conference today, REALTOR® associations reported that the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area had the best year in terms of the number of closed sales since 2005. Closed sales finished 2015 13.7% better than 2014, boasting 56,390 compared to 49,604 in 2014.

The median sales price in 2015 was $220,000, a 7.0% increase from $205,600 in 2014. This is on top of gains in recent years of +14.4% in 2013 and 11.9% in 2012. The median sales price of single family homes was up 5.6% and townhouse-condos were up 3.8% over the prior year, continuing multi-year positive trends. Distressed sales were a mere 10.6% of all closed sales in 2015. This represents a one-year change in sales of foreclosures and short sales of -26.7%.

“Last year (2015) really showcased the durability of our economic and housing recovery, despite a few obstacles. As sales hit a 10-year high, the Twin Citizens are just as committed to homeownership as ever. Attractive rates, rising rents, job growth, wage increases and the lowest unemployment rate of any major metro area will continue to be positive factors for real estate,” said Judy Shields, President of the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®

Months’ supply of inventory ended the year at an unprecedented low of 2.1 months. This metric indicates how long it would take to sell-off all existing inventory if no new inventory was added and is generally considered balanced, favoring neither buyer nor seller, at 5.0 months. While this metric indicates a sellers’ market that may leave some buyers with fewer options, it also has some market watchers asking themselves whether we’ve seen the supply bottom. While inventory is certainly a metric to watch it’s probably best measured and compared throughout the selling season and not at year end.

“Since inventory conditions vary across the metro and market conditions change quickly, would-be sellers are encouraged to contact their REALTORS® for an updated market analysis. Your home might be worth more than you think,” said Bob Clark, President of the Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS®.

Days on market continued to shrink, ending 2015 at just 76 days on the market – a 10-year record low.

Percent of original list price, a metric that demonstrates a relationship of the original list price compared to the final sales price remains strong at 96.6% overall and across market segments. For example, this means if a home was originally listed at $100,000 its final sales price was $96,600.

Single family homes and townhouse-condo segments were at 96.6% of original list. Previously owned was at 96.4%. New construction topped out a 99.6% of original list. This indicates sellers have regained their pricing power and are accepting near-full price offers on their listings.

“We know that well maintained, appropriately priced homes with amenities are selling fairly quickly but moreover the data shows that as well,” said Clark.
From The Skinny Blog.