Monday, March 4th, 2013

REALTORS® must sell. Whether it’s themselves, a property or an offer, an integral part of the life is convincing other people of something. Clean clothes, shiny shoes, a tucked shirt, upright posture. That’s just to get in the door. But it’s not enough to walk the talk. Proving to be the real(TOR®) deal means you know your stuff. You need stats, real stats, GOOD stats. Impress with empirical industry know-how and dazzle with substantiated evidence. Don’t be the kid in class with grass stains, gum in hair and an unsharpened No. 3 pencil. Bring the following local real estate expertise to the local listing presentation.

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

  • New Listings decreased 6.1% to 1,176
  • Pending Sales increased 3.1% to 927
  • Inventory decreased 30.9% to 12,341

For the month of January:

  • Median Sales Price increased 14.3% to $160,000
  • Days on Market decreased 24.1% to 107
  • Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.5% to 93.5%
  • Months Supply of Inventory decreased 40.0% to 3.0

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report.From The Skinny.

Posted in Weekly Report |
Monday, February 25th, 2013


Here’s an oldie but goodie: All Real Estate is Local. We’ve all heard it. It’s why industry insiders don’t pay much attention to national housing statistics. The national housing market is just an agglomeration of local housing markets. It’s like saying there is a national garage sale market. They’re all local. You don’t grab an umbrella in Miami based on the weather forecast in Seattle. So why would someone in San Francisco base a home sale or purchase decision on market data from Boston? Here’s your data for your local housing market.

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

  • New Listings decreased 4.9% to 1,196
  • Pending Sales increased 7.9% to 916
  • Inventory decreased 31.0% to 12,309

For the month of January:

  • Median Sales Price increased 14.3% to $160,000
  • Days on Market decreased 24.1% to 107
  • Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.5% to 93.5%
  • Months Supply of Inventory decreased 40.0% to 3.0

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report.From The Skinny.

Posted in Weekly Report |
Monday, February 25th, 2013

Where has the Twin Cities real estate market been and where is it heading? This monthly summary provides an overview of current trends and projections for future activity. Narrated by Cotty Lowry (2013 Treasurer, Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®), video produced by Chelsie Lopez.

Posted in Monthly Skinny Video |
Monday, February 18th, 2013


Transparency. We like it when our politicians, stock brokers and mechanics have it. But what about our housing markets? It’s empowering to know that home sales were up 10.0 percent in your state, or that the average home sold for 250,000 in your city or that 20.0 percent of sales in your neighborhood were foreclosures. It allows – no – it encourages both existing and would-be home buyers to make smarter decisions, which ultimately conserves the increasingly scarce taxpayer dollar. In turn, that allows us to invest in things we value as a society like infrastructure, technology, education, research and job training.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending February 9:

  • New Listings decreased 6.7% to 1,229
  • Pending Sales increased 5.3% to 914
  • Inventory decreased 31.2% to 12,225

For the month of January:

  • Median Sales Price increased 14.3% to $160,000
  • Days on Market decreased 24.1% to 107
  • Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.5% to 93.5%
  • Months Supply of Inventory decreased 42.0% to 2.9

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report.From The Skinny.

Posted in Weekly Report |
Monday, February 18th, 2013

While we’re all exercising more and eating better – at least for another week – the local housing market has upheld several important resolutions. Four patterns continued from 2012: buyer demand was up, new and existing supply levels were down, prices were higher and distressed market activity eased. There were 2,797 closed home sales in January 2013, 11.0 percent higher than January 2012. There were 3,456 pending sales, a 13.3 percent increase over last year. Inventory levels declined 32.2 percent to 11,977 active listings, the lowest number for any month going back to January 2003. That marks an official 10-year low.

“Last year, traditional sellers re-entered the market in increasing numbers,” said Andy Fazendin, President of the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®. “With our limited inventory, that’s led consumers to purchase more traditional properties, which sell for roughly 60 percent more than distressed properties.”

Traditional closed sales, in fact, were up 41.8 percent. That’s helped boost year-over-year median sales price comparisons for 11 straight months. The median home price was up 14.3 percent to $160,000. The 10K Housing Value Index – which adjusts for seasonality and segment bias – showed a tamer 8.2 percent increase to

$175,529. With the number of homes for sale at a 10-year low, seller confidence has become an increasingly vital component to continued housing recovery. There is evidence of improvement on this front, as traditional seller activity has been on the rise.

A healing distressed segment facilitated recovery. Traditional homes comprised 65.9 percent of all new listings, up from 56.3 percent last January, and made up 57.1 percent of all closed sales compared to 44.8 percent last year. In other words, fewer low-priced foreclosures and short sales both entered and sold off the market.

The traditional median sales price was up 3.6 percent to $199,900; the foreclosure median sales price was up 22.5 percent to $124,900; the short sale median sales price was up 2.9 percent to $125,500.

Posted in The Skinny |