For Week Ending November 23, 2019

Residential new construction activity continues to rise nationally. The U.S. Commerce Department reports that new housing permits rose 5% in October to a new 12-year high of 1.46 million units. Lawrence Yun, the National Association of REALTORS® chief economist, called the latest figures “tremendously good news for the housing sector.” With builder sentiment and buyer activity remaining strong, it is widely expected that new construction will continue to remain brisk in the coming months.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending November 23:

• New Listings increased 74.1% to 928
• Pending Sales increased 39.8% to 966
• Inventory decreased 6.6% to 10,724

For the month of October:

• Median Sales Price increased 5.7% to $280,000
• Days on Market decreased 4.2% to 46
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 0.1% to 98.1%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 4.0% to 2.4

All comparisons are to 2018

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From MAAR Market Data News.

For Week Ending November 16, 2019

In the Federal Housing Administration’s 2019 Annual Report to Congress, the FHA announced their Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund Capital Ratio stood at 4.84%, up from 2.76% last year and well above the 2% minimum required by Congress. This has prompted the National Association of REALTORS® to advocate for a reduction in FHA insurance premiums and eliminating the life-of-loan mortgage insurance requirement. While the FHA has not committed to any changes at this time, there is optimism for change in the future as the reserves continue to increase. With FHA loan market share at 11.4% in the 2019 report, any reduction in mortgage insurance costs would positively affect a large number of future borrowers.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending November 16:

• New Listings increased 6.2% to 1,028
• Pending Sales increased 6.3% to 999
• Inventory decreased 6.1% to 11,147

For the month of October:

• Median Sales Price increased 5.7% to $280,000
• Days on Market decreased 4.2% to 46
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 0.1% to 98.1%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 4.0% to 2.4

All comparisons are to 2018

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From MAAR Market Data News.