December 2013 Market Update... It's Still All About Inventory

The Twin Cities real estate market continues to be all about inventory... at the lowest levels since before 2004. I had hopes that the supply of homes for sale might creep above last year at some point in 2013 but that didn't happen... maybe in 2014.

The number of new listings crossed over to more than recent years in April and managed to hold a lead until November and December, when new listings again fell below recent years. This may be due in part to a declining number of foreclosure listings, which dominated the market during holiday and winter months in recent years. Traditional home sellers are typically not busy listing their homes for sale at this time of year.

Pending sales also dropped below last year. Buyers are still looking, trying to take advantage of low interest rates and prices but the low supply of homes for sale is making it difficult for them to find homes they want to buy. I saw evidence of how they are waiting to pounce on new listings this week... listed a home for sale Tuesday night and had a very good offer the next night!

Median sale price has been holding remarkably steady... on a noticeably higher level than the last few years since March.

Months supply of inventory dropped to 2.6 months in December, again the lowest since before 2004. This indicates a very strong seller's market... a balanced market is 5-6 months of inventory.

The figures above are based on statistics for the combined 13-county Twin Cities metropolitan area released by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, with the historical chart coming directly from them.

Never forget that all real estate is local and what is happening in your neighborhood may be very different from the overall metro area.

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Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results - Email - Twin Cities Real Estate Market