August 2010 Twin Cities Market Update
Date Posted:
Monday, September 13 2010 12:26 PM
120 days post tax credit and the sales numbers continue to drop in the Twin Cities real estate market.
While August did not give us the same dismal numbers as July’s year over year drop of 42% in closed sales, August still had a drop of 34.2% in sales compared to last year.
Overall year to date the Twin Cities has closed 26,603 transactions through August. This is a drop of 8.6% compared to last year. The five year average for year to date sales numbers is 28,773.
As of the end of August, total active listings are at 27,638 on the Minnesota MLS as compared to 25,407 last year.
The housing supply has crept up to 8 months; this is up from 6.9 months a year ago. The months supply of inventory indicates that if no other homes were listed the current existing inventory would take 8 months to sell on the open market.
The 30 year fixed mortgage rate in the Twin Cities region as of September 1st stood at 4.6% as compared to 5.4% in September 2009. The five year average is 6.0%.
All these numbers indicate housing affordability is at an all time high in the Twin Cities and as interest rates continue to remain low we should see buyer demand catch up with the supply to create a more balanced market for buyers and sellers. However, a big contingent on this factor is employment. If people are uncertain about their employment they will continue to shy away from purchasing a new home.