Selling Your Home in Minnesota? Partner with the Top Realtor for Maximum Returns

Twin Cities Housing Report October 2018

The Minneapolis-St Paul Housing Market Overview

As we look at the Twin Cities Housing Market Statistics for the first month of the final quarter of 2018 the one thing that hasn’t changed for months is the shortage of properties for sale in the lower end of the market. With so few homes that fit their budget, coupled with rising home prices and interest rates, would-be buyers continue to struggle with fulfilling their dream of ownership. Homes at this price range are still selling quickly, but we are finally starting to see that shift we have been talking about, in market conditions overall as we look at narrowing gaps in year over year data for sales, inventory, and price.

What’s Up Doc?

As we compare October of this year to October 2017, we find new listings up 9.2 percent, closed sales rose 3.4 percent, the percentage of list price received up 0.2, and the median sale price of $265,000 up 8.6 percent. Meanwhile, pending sales were down 1.7 percent, inventory levels dropped 2.2 percent, days on the market fell 7.7 percent. In summary, in the Twin Cities 16 county metro at least, we are still experiencing fewer homes on the market taking less time to sell with prices even on an upward trajectory.

What About the Economy?

Our local economy remains strong. The unemployment rate for October in the Twin Cities was 2.1 percent and 2.8 for the entire state. Both are lower than the national average of 3.7. Yea Minnesota! Consumer confidence is still strong, but there have been concerns and...

Winter is On the Way. Be Ready!

Prepare you Home For Winter in MN

If you have been in denial that winter is right around the corner, it’s a reasonable assumption that you are probably not ready to welcome it. That small dusting of snow on the ground should be a hint. It's winter's way of saying, "Ready or not, I'll be visiting you soon!" 

Getting caught off guard happens to the best of us. Take heart. Until we get hit with single digit temperatures or significant snowfall you still have time to get ready for the season. More good news, a warming trend is expected to move in this week.

For those of us who meant well but never quite got around to tackling the fall home checklist, Mother Nature is giving us a second chance. She is nice that way sometimes. Here are the fundamental ways to prepare for the worse that winter can throw at you.

How to get your MN House Ready for Winter

Here’s what to do.

  • Gutters: remove leaves and other debris. Don’t forget to check for leaks while you're up there.
  • The roof: Inspect for loose shingles and leaks.
  • The furnace: have a professional inspect, clean and tune that baby up for winter. Having it stop working in January in the middle of a deep freeze is not on anyone’s bucket list, trust me.
  • Remove window air conditioners and store for the winter.
  • ...

Twin Cities Housing Report September 2018

The Minneapolis-St Paul Housing Market

Some say there are indications in the September housing stats that the market might be starting a shift towards balance. New listings increased 5.9 percent compared to September of last year. However, when we look at months supply of inventory that was down 3.4 percent.  So what does this mean?

Let’s keep in mind that although we see balance in the market pricing tier for $500,000 and above, inventory levels in all other price segments are not even close to approaching balance which is a five to six month level of homes for sale. If you are one of those hoping to break into the housing market, your choices are limited with desirable properties selling like lightning going through butter.

Probing into the data, we see that median sales prices are still higher than last year by 6.5 percent when we look at month to month and 7.7 percent over last year when we compare the year over year data.  Closed sales are down 5.8 percent and pending down 1.8 percent with properties spending 16 percent less time to sell.

Interest rates are bobbing around the 5 percent rate for mortgages which, combined with higher prices of homes may be sidelining some buyers and forcing others to rethink their home buying strategies. These numbers tell me demand is still strong. It’s outweighing supply, and low inventory levels are what is keeping sales figures down over last year. There are also outside economic and political factors to consider, which I will address shortly.

MN New Construction 

...