DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS

Home equity lines of credit surged nearly 20 percent compared to a year ago and are now at the highest level since the 12 months ending in June 2009, according to RealtyTrac’s Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) Trends Report. HELOC originations comprised 15.4 percent of all loan originations nationwide during the first eight months of the year, the highest percentage since 2008.

“This recent rise in HELOC originations indicates that an increasing number of home owners are gaining confidence in the strength of the housing recovery and, more importantly, have regained much of their home equity lost during the housing crisis,” says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

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With the exciting sales pace of summer behind us, and focus now shifting inward toward family, school and other interests for many Americans, the numbers will start to dip in most markets. Seasonal shifts can be a drag, but it can also mean opportunity. Bargain hunters, first-time buyers, empty nesters, investors and younger buyers with no school-aged children are among the crowd that are not necessarily framed by the summer months. New construction is inching upwards, and the national unemployment rate dropped below 6.0 to 5.9 for the first time since 2008, so there’s still plenty of rosy attitudes in a balanced market.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending September 27:

 • New Listings decreased 1.3% to 1,431
 • Pending Sales decreased 14.5% to 945
 • Inventory increased 10.0% to 18,753

For the month of August:

 • Median Sales Price increased 5.3% to $219,000
 • Days on Market decreased 2.9% to 68
 • Percent of Original List Price Received decreased 0.7% to 96.3%
 • Months Supply of Inventory increased 18.4% to 4.5