Market sentiment can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just as negative economic news sent a chill through the housing industry over the last several years, a newly confident consumer buying up excess inventory and further housing-related sundries helps stabilize and support home values. Some sellers are even starting to see rising prices. The numbers are beginning to reflect the fact that multiple offers on homes for sale are now more than anecdotal conversation between real estate professionals. For this week, new listings were down while purchase contracts were up compared to the same week in April 2011.
In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending April 7:
- New Listings decreased 19.0% to 1,411
- Pending Sales increased 15.5% to 1,036
- Inventory decreased 27.3% to 17,289
For the month of March:
- Median Sales Price increased 7.1% to $149,900
- Days on Market decreased 9.4% to 145
- Percent of Original List Price Received increased 3.8% to 92.1%
- Months Supply of Inventory decreased 38.5% to 4.7
Anne's Blog
Monday, April 16th, 2012
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Monday, April 9th, 2012
The weekly scorecard showcases that home buyers were more active compared to the same week last year. Buyers have been taking advantage of an affordable market, but sellers in many areas have been lazing in the tall grass like lions as the herd moves past. Watch for a changing landscape this spring and summer. Even skeptical sellers are sensing a need to get back into the hunt.
In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending March 31:
- New Listings decreased 12.1% to 1,532
- Pending Sales increased 25.2% to 1,113
- Inventory decreased 27.2% to 17,274
For the month of March:
- Median Sales Price increased 6.4% to $149,000
- Days on Market decreased 10.0% to 144
- Percent of Original List Price Received increased 3.7% to 92.1%
- Months Supply of Inventory decreased 39.2% to 4.6
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Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
The last time you were at the doctor, your vital signs were checked – heart rate, pulse, temperature and blood pressure. Progress was documented and valuable insights were gained, whether it was a routine visit or one of many checks during an extended hospital stay. The housing market has been in and out of intensive care for the past several years. Monitoring vitals matters, and that’s what you’ll find on the following pages. The pulse of today’s market indicates that we may be getting ready to leave the ICU. So if you could just please pull up your sleeve, let’s check your blood pressure.
In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending March 24:
- New Listings increased 2.2% to 1,414
- Pending Sales increased 30.2% to 1,052
- Inventory decreased 27.3% to 17,193
For the month of February:
- Median Sales Price decreased 1.4% to $138,000
- Days on Market decreased 9.0% to 145
- Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.5% to 90.6%
- Months Supply of Inventory decreased 34.8% to 4.7
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Saturday, March 31st, 2012
Loans of up to $18,000 are being offered to homeowners with no interest, no monthly payments and repayment deferred until home is sold or transferred.
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Thursday, March 29th, 2012
February pending sales up 9.2% from year ago
By Inman News
The National Association of Realtors is predicting existing-home sales will jump 7 to 10 percent in 2012 to the highest level in five years, based on an “uneven but higher sales pattern” so far this year.
Pending home sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent from January to February, which was up 9.2 percent from the same time a year ago, NAR said today in releasing its latest Pending Home Sales Index.
Last week, NAR reported a similar trend for existing-home sales, which were down 0.9 percent from January to February, but up 8.8 percent from a year ago.
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Thursday, March 29th, 2012
Over the past several years, millions of homeowners have had billions of dollars in mortgage debt forgiven, either through foreclosure, refinancing or short sales. It’s important for real estate professionals and homeowners to understand that mortgage debt forgiveness has significant tax consequences.
Here are 10 things the Internal Revenue Service says you should know about mortgage debt forgiveness:
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Thursday, March 29th, 2012
By Tara-Nicholle Nelson
If you sat down and tried to call up a mental picture of a smart home buyer, the person in your mind’s eye might be sitting in front of the computer, calculator at hand, running numbers and weighing out pros and cons before arriving at a sensible decision. But ask any agent: even the smartest of their buyer clients looks and feels nothing like this image. Once the house hunt begins or the offer is signed, emotions start to fray, tensions run high and stress-induced gray hairs begin to multiply (and/or get pulled out).
Your home is the largest purchase you’ll ever make. So it might seem that emotional side effects like panic and fear are inevitable. But they’re not. You do have the power to manage your emotions and have a relatively blissed-out homebuying experience. And you should seize that power; doing so will not only minimize the discomfort, it will also keep panic and fear from fouling up your decision-making.
Let me hand you some keys – the keys to having a Zen home buying experience:
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Thursday, March 29th, 2012
By Tara-Nicholle Nelson
We humans have a natural craving to simplify the complex. This same instinct, which explainswhy legends, films and fairytales from every culture tend to boil down to heroes vs. villains, also explains why so many buyers and sellers desperately seek rules of thumb for making the often scary, rarely simple decisions they face.
Reality check: your real estate transaction is not a children’s story. Grown-up life is complicated, as are money matters and relationships. Since real estate involves all three (being a grown up, money and relationships), smart buyers and sellers should cast a suspicious eye at super simple real estate rules of thumb.
Let’s take a handful of the most persistent ones head on, and decipher which of them are fact, and which are fiction.
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Thursday, March 29th, 2012
Spring cleaning can be so cathartic
By Veronique Kipen
Make it easy on yourself and cart your cleaning supplies in a caddy, like this pail.
In the beginning, there was dirt. Lots of it. From the layer of black ash put out by coal-fired heaters to the sooty grime of gas and kerosene lamps, for turn-of-the-century housekeepers, spring cleaning was a necessity. A hundred years later, we’re free to choose. The urge to clean house when the days turn balmy springs as much from the soul as the grime.
“Spring cleaning is cathartic,” says Maggie Bright of Mackerel Sky Design in Malibu, Calif. “It frees you up from those jobs you’ve left undone that have been hanging over your head for months.”
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Monday, March 26th, 2012
In another sign that the six-year long housing slump could be coming to an end, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reached 28. To put that in perspective, it went from above 70 in 2005 to below 10 in 2009. The HMI has not seen 28 since June 2007. This and other landmark data points are coalescing to signal calmer waters ahead. That’s not to say you should expect double-digit annualized appreciation, but both buyers and sellers are displaying the sort of confidence that is fluttering through the rest of the economy.
In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending March 17:
- New Listings decreased 1.3% to 1,406
- Pending Sales increased 23.1% to 1,029
- Inventory decreased 27.5% to 17,088
For the month of February:
- Median Sales Price decreased 1.4% to $138,000
- Days on Market decreased 9.0% to 145
- Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.5% to 90.6%
- Months Supply of Inventory decreased 35.2% to 4.
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