Twin Cities Home Prices Show Signs of Strength
March 10, 2010
The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors sent out a News Release today to announce that for the 2nd straight month the median home price in the Twin Cities has increased. This is the first back to back monthly increase since 2006. Home Prices Show Signs of Stability
Here were the highlights from the report -
- For the second consecutive month, home prices in the Twin Cities 13-county metropolitan area showed a year-over-year increase. We haven’t seen back-to-back year-over-year increases since 2006.
- The February median sales price of $159,000 was a 6.0 percent increase from last February’s mark of $150,000. That’s the strongest year-over-year increase since 2005.
- There are fewer foreclosure homes selling now than there were last February.
- The market share of traditional, non-foreclosure homes has grown in the last year, tilting prices upward and stabilizing the market.
- The median sales price of traditional homes (excluding foreclosures and short sales) in February was $204,900, down only $100 from last February’s mark of $205,000.
- Foreclosures posted a 0.8 percent increase to $120,000, while short sale properties posted a 6.7 percent decline to $145,000.
- There were 3,527 signed purchase agreements in February, an increase of 6.4 percent from a year ago.
- We expect home sales to tick up as buyers move to take advantage of the tax incentives before the April 30 deadline.
- Affordability is outstanding. The current Housing Affordability Index of 213 is the fourth-highest mark ever recorded.
- Buyer activity has brought inventory down, so there are far fewer homes for buyers to choose from. The March Supply-Demand Ratio of 5.39 means that there are 5.39 homes available per buyer in the month. In March 2008 the mark was 8.16.
Conclusion
The Homebuyer tax credit of $8,000 for first time homebuyers and $6,500 for move up buyers along with interest rates that remain near 5% is creating a large impetus for home sales. As we saw with the “Cash for Clunkers” program and the recent Minnesota Appliance Rebates, free government money does have a positive effect on consumer behavior. Sellers have a 45 day window to get their homes sold. After May 1st expect sales to drop off substantially.
New Listing – 13140 Europa Trail N, Hugo 55038
March 10, 2010
Last week I listed this move in ready, detached townhome with an amazing pond lot. It is a one story rambler style for main floor living with a vaulted living room, sun room, master bedroom, kitchen & 2nd bedroom/office on the main level. Downstairs it has a large family room with a gas fireplace, 3rd bedroom & nice screen porch. Come gain the benefits of HOA without any common wall neighbors.
You can find more details about this listing including more pictures here – RE/MAX Results – 13140 Europa Trail N. Hugo
New Listing – 4207 W. 124th Street, Savage 55378
February 17, 2010
Yesterday I listed this move in ready townhouse in Savage, MN. It is very near Highway 13 so there’s easy access to I-35W. The home has 2 features which I think are very hard to find. First, it’s very hard to find a 3 bedroom townhouse at this pricepoint (listed at $150,000). Secondly, their is NO Association so there is significant savings over many other townhouses on a monthly basis. Some of the other features of this home include –
- Hardwood floors in main living room, kitchen level
- New stainless steel dishwasher & range as well as new washer/dryer
- New paint throughout
- Wood burning fireplace in lower family room
- 2 car garage
- Nice deck off of dining area
- Recessed & Updated Lighting
You can find more details about this listing including more pictures here – RE/MAX Results – 4207 W. 124th Street Savage
For more information texted to your cell phone including pictures call 866-831-8621 and use property code “32047″
or
Text “32047″ to 21691
New Listing – 9180 207th Street W, Lakeville, 55044
February 16, 2010
Yesterday I listed this move-in ready home in Lakeville, MN. The house is near downtown Lakeville, is very well maintained and has a very large, flat, fenced yard that backs up to a paved trail system that goes throughout the city. Some of the outstanding features of this home include:
- 3 bedrooms on upper level – all with hardwood floors
- Good size living room with hardwood floors
- Updated kitchen with separate eating area
- 2 baths, including newly finished basement bath with ceramic floors
- Basement family room is insulated, sheetrocked, taped and painted and just needs a ceiling and flooring to add hundreds of feet of extra finished living area
- 3 car heated, insulated garage
- 16×16 deck to very nicely landscaped backyard, including shed for additional storage
You can find more details about this listing including more pictures here – RE/MAX Results – 9180 207th Street Listing
For more information texted to your cell phone including pictures call 866-831-8621 and use property code “32045″
or
Text “32045″ to 21691
2009 Dakota County Housing Market Analysis
February 15, 2010
The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors has released their 2009 Housing Market Analysis entitled the 2009 Residential Real Estate Activity Report. This report shows real estate market data for the entire 13 county Twin Cities market but also breaks out data for each individual city which allows us to view what’s going on in each market area of Dakota County.
Overall Statistics
Before looking specifically at Dakota County there were some overall statistics for the entire metro area that really stand out that impacted the Twin Cities residential real estate market in 2009 -
This first chart shows the Price Per Square Foot of finished space over the past 6 years. This is considered a better indicator of market value of an individual home than Median Value. As you can see, the Average Price Per Square Foot peaked in 2005-2006 and has declined almost 30% since that peak. Ouch…
These statistics do vary a lot by city. For example, places like Rosemount ($115/sqft) & Eagan ($113/sqft) are faring better than Farmington & South St. Paul (each $101/sqft). I’d be happy to get you the data for your city but this is a very good, quick way to estimate market value of your home.
Everyone knows that there are lots of Lender Mediated sales (bank-owned and short sale properties) in the market but the fact that 43% of all sales in 2009 were Lender-Mediated should surprise people. Most projections show that there are record numbers of people in default right now, fueled by the bad economy, and Lender Mediated homes on the market may actually increase through 2011
The good news right now is that the market supply of Lender Mediated homes is down and when combined with the Homeowner Tax Credit and 5% interest rates we may see a decent window for Traditional Homeowners to sell before the Credit ends in April.
Dakota County Data
The following 2 tables are a little hard to read but you should be able to click on them to get a larger version.
This first chart shows each city within Dakota County and breaks out Total Sales, how many of them were Lender Mediated, New Construction and Single Family vs. Townhouse/Condo. The big thing to look at is the Percent of Lender Mediated homes. A higher number here directly impacts Price Per Square Foot and other metrics.
The 2nd chart shows a breakdown of Average Price, Days on Market, % of List Price Received and most importantly, Price Per Square Foot. As you can see, Mendota Heights was the clear winner in 2009 as only 19% of the homes sold were Lender Mediated leading to a Price Per Square Foot that was much higher than the others. Rosemount and Lakeville rounded out the Top 3.
Conclusion
The real estate market in Dakota County is down around 30% from its peak in 2006 and a lot of the slide can be attributed to the huge increase in Lender Mediated properties. On average, your home is probably worth less than you paid for it unless you bought it before 2002-03. Understanding what’s happening by using Market Analysis Data is a primary service your Realtor can help you with to help you make decisions.
For information on any of the data used and/or individual questions about the Dakota County real estate market please contact me anytime – Contact Bill
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