August 2017 Market Insights

It’s incredible how fast the summer flies by, especially if you’re hunting for a new home before school starts. After hitting a record high in June, closed home sales fell 2.6 percent year-over-year in July, due mostly to a shortage of homes available to purchase, according to new data from the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®.

Buyers continue to face multiple offer scenarios and sellers continue to reap fast sales and rising prices.

Key insights
(All comparisons are year-over year)

Median sales price: +5.9% — $254,000

Average days on market: -18.5% — 44 days

New listings: -3.9%

Number of homes for sale: -18.3%

Pending sales (signed purchase agreements): -1.2%

Economic check up

Minneapolis-St. Paul area unemployment rate: 3.5 percent (4.3 percent nationally)
Average 30-year mortgage rates hover around 4 percent
A strong economy is fueling household formation, but MAAR experts say wages may not be keeping up with increasing home prices and interest rates.

Distressed listings fall to new lows

The foreclosure rate in the seven-county Twin Cities metro dropped to an all-time low this summer. From January to June, there were fewer than 2,000 foreclosures, an 86 percent decline from the peak in 2010.

Foreclosure listings are in high demand
Inventory of foreclosure listings was down 53.5 percent from last July
When removing distressed listings from the count, pending sales went up .7 percent over last year

Luxury listings: A horse of a different color

With exceptional properties come exceptional market circumstances. Homes priced at $500,000 and above see unique conditions compared with the rest of the market. Let’s explore some differences to expect when selling an upper-bracket home:

Months’ supply of homes: