Local Real Estate News
From The Skinny
Over the last three weeks, the number of new listings has grown at a stronger pace than we saw in 2009. For the week ending February 20, there were 1,833 new listings, an increase of 17.7 percent from a year ago. The recent uptick is likely a combination of the typical spring increase in activity coupled with the effects of the $6,500 tax credit available to move-up buyers. Consumers who have lived in their current residence for 5 of the last 8 years are eligible to receive the credit when they purchase a home before April 30.
Also for the week ending February 20, pending sales made a 9.9 percent year-over-year jump after staying even with last year for several consecutive weeks.
The Supply-Demand Ratio for March is 5.39, which means there are 5.39 homes available for each buyer. That's 6.9 percent below last year's number and is another indication of dwindling supply.
Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report.
From The Skinny
The Twin Cities housing market in early 2010 looks pretty much like it did in early 2009. How similar? Over the last three months, there have been 7,189 signed purchase agreements; there were 7,186 a year ago during the same time period. Eerie, no? Robotic precision.
For the week ending February 13, there were 711 pending sales, down 2.7 percent from last year, and new listings posted 1,764 units, up 4.9 percent from a year ago. The only thing that's really changed much is the supply of available homes, which continues to dwindle relative to a year ago. The current stock of 22,271 available homes represents a 12.4 percent decline from a year ago.
From The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—U.S. home construction and industrial production both rose in January, government reports showed Wednesday, providing further evidence of the economy's gradual recovery.
Housing starts climbed 2.8% to a seasonally adjusted 591,000 annual rate compared with the prior month as builders recovered from a bout of bad weather, the Commerce Department said. However, new building permits dropped, a sign the housing sector is improving slowly.
From The Skinny
The Twin Cities housing market at the beginning of 2010 continues to look similar to the Twin Cities housing market at the beginning of 2009. There were 1,848 new listings for the week ending February 6, a 3.8 percent increase from the same week last year. On a similar track, there were 780 pending sales for the same week, 4.7 percent above last year.
With supply dropping—now at 5.5 months of availability—it may be that potential buyers are all too familiar with the inventory they have to choose from, especially in the lower price ranges where sales have been through the roof in the last year and inventory has dropped quickly.
Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report.
