Home sales continue upward movement!

"You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." – Cinderella, 1980s power-balladeers

This week's quote-of-note applies to the current situation of available
inventory in the Twin Cities housing market. Our disappearing
supply—down 21.4 percent from this time last year—is being caused
by absorption from strong pending sales activity (up 18.2 percent year-
over-year for the week ending July 18) and weak new listings (down
12.1 percent for the same time period comparison). Click here for full version of stats ending 7/19/09. Exciting stats!
With a consistently shrinking inventory and more buyers this summer
than we've seen since 2005, buyers who lack urgency could find
themselves singing along to that sad classic Cinderella song.
Meaning: Contact me today so you don't miss out~

Something to consider: Whether you are in the market or not. It is in everyone's best interest to use a REALTOR that has experience and expertise. Would you let a friend or relative work with just anyone? Refer them to me. I will take care of them and make sure they are protected, and get the best deal possible.

Pending Sales up 34.6% over Last Year!

The Twin Cities housing market experienced its annual pre-
Independence Day drop in activity as fireworks, barbeques and lake
cabin excursions preoccupied the minds and schedules of many Twin
Citizens. New listings took a steep dive prior to the holiday, dropping to
1,482 for the week ending July 4. This is an 8.3 percent decrease from
the same week in 2008. Full Report Click Here!
Pending sales also dropped to 989 for the week ending July 4.
Fortunately, this stat is still a healthy 34.6 percent above where it was
last year, when there were just 735 pending sales reported.
Further metric watching:
Housing Affordability Index – 192. While astoundingly high, it has
dropped since January due to price rebounding and higher mortgage
rates.
Months Supply of Inventory – 7.3. This is a 31.1 percent decrease from
the 10.6 figure posted last year at this time.
The market is showing signs of slowly moving back towards balance.

If you are looking to buy or sell, please call and I can help you out! 612-308-4708 Or click here to email me anytime! Remember 1st time home buyers receive $8,000 back when purchasing a home prior to November 1st 2009!

Twin Cities homes sales in June rose 33%

Sales are up for the 12th straight month, but a sizable chunk of the sales were from foreclosures and other "distressed" deals.

Expect more decline

Homes prices should decline another 15 to 20% through 2010. Defaulting is shifting from low-end to middle and upper-end homes which is distorting average home price data but is extremely bad news. Expect housing inventory to surge later this year as various stop-gap solution run their course ($8000 homeowner tax credit, ultra-low interest rates) and the economic situation continues to deteriorate. Email me for more information!

There was at least some good news for homeowners in the June housing report from Twin Cities Realtors groups. But the timing of a housing recovery still depends on when the influx of foreclosed homes into the market subsides.

Pending home sales in the metro area in June were up 33.7 percent from this time last year, to 5,183. That number was the highest for the month of June since 2005, and marked 12 consecutive months of year-to-year increases, the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors said Friday.

In another favorable trend, the number of properties for sale at the end of June dropped 21.6 percent from a year ago, to 26,204, the Realtors association said. The more scarce property is, the higher the price is likely to be.

"Sellers still face a challenging market, but things look better for them than they have in a while," said Brad Fisher, president-elect of the Realtors association.

In the Twin Cities, the housing market is showing slow improvement. Closed sales for June were up 20 percent, but more than 40 percent of those sales were the result of foreclosures or "short sales," where the lender agrees to a sale for less than the amount of the mortgage.

Still, the percentage of home sales that were the result of foreclosures or short sales was down from 59.7 percent in January.

"The fact that short sales and foreclosures are coming down as a percent of total home sales is a good sign that could lead to at least a short-term bounce in housing values," said Scott Anderson, vice president and senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. in Minneapolis. "But some economists worry that there could be another flood of foreclosures because of the rising unemployment rate and the weak labor market."January.

"The fact that short sales and foreclosures are coming down as a percent of total home sales is a good sign that could lead to at least a short-term bounce in housing values," said Scott Anderson, vice president and senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. in Minneapolis. "But some economists worry that there could be another flood of foreclosures because of the rising unemployment rate and the weak labor market."

Greg Sax, a spokesman for the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, agreed.

"It's hard to say when we'll get to the end of the foreclosure crisis, because there may be more coming that we don't know about yet," Sax said. "That's why we don't want to paint too rosy a picture."

Greg Sax, a spokesman for the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, agreed.

"It's hard to say when we'll get to the end of the foreclosure crisis, because there may be more coming that we don't know about yet," Sax said. "That's why we don't want to paint too rosy a picture." Email me for more information!

Monthly Skinny on the Real Estate Market!

As there are so many negative stories on the real estate market, I remain optimistic. Bullish in fact. My business has stayed the course for three years with the philosophy "work hard and remain positive." There are truely significant signs the real estate market is turning. The stats do not lie my friends. We are heading to better waters. By next spring we may be back to a balanced market! jkoltes@gmail.com

Click on the link below for a short video that will inspire you that our Minnesota housing market is on it's way!

Where has the Minneapolis real estate market been and where is it heading? This monthly summary provides an overview of current trends and projections for future activity.
Click here for the full report!

Minneapolis Housing Stats..Great News!

Great News! Don't be Caught on the Sidelines This Time!

New listings and pending sales both took a jump upward in the week
ending June 6 as the annual post-Memorial Day surge in activity took
place. There were 1,226 signed purchase agreements in the Twin
Cities for the week, which represents a 33.4 percent increase over the
same week last year. The 2,160 new listings were a 4.3 percent
decline from a year ago but were a significant bump over the activity
seen during the Memorial weekend respite.

Complete Report: Housing Stats

The June Housing Affordability Index of 199 is down 20 points over the
last two months due to recent rises in mortgage rates and seasonal
increases in the region's median sales price. Combine that with a
steadily declining Months Supply of Inventory (7.6 months) and falling
Supply/Demand Ratio (5 homes per buyer), and it's clear that buying
conditions are not quite as friendly as they were a couple of months
ago, especially in the lower price ranges.

Regardless, there remains a hefty cadre of properties available for
purchase. And with the $8,000 federal tax credit spurring first-time
home buyer activity, this summer should be busy.

Complete Report: Housing Stats

Housing Supply Outlook!

What to Watch For

The number of townhome sales in the Twin Cities metro area has increased over the last year by 0.4 percent after several consecutive years of declines in
unit sales. Can you guess the price point where townhouse sales increased the heaviest in the past year? Under $120,000, where sales have more than tripled.
Of the 1,898 townhouse sales in that segment, 1,557 were lender-mediated foreclosures and short sales. Click here for the complete report.

There are currently 7.6 months of supply available, down 28.6 percent from last year at this time when the mark was 10.4 months. The biggest drops in supply
have been seen in the single-family detached and townhouse markets—the months supply of condominiums still sits at 12.5 months. Email Me

Sales are up overall, but in the higher price ranges sales are still down over 20 percent year-over-year. In the $1,000,000 and higher segment there is almost 3
years of supply available.

If you have any questions or need help with your housing needs, please drop us an email.
Call anytime Joe 612-308-4708 Tom 612-865-9778

Minnesota Real Estate Stats ending 5/23/09

For the week ending May 23, there were 1,103 pending sales, which
was down slightly from the week prior due to the Memorial Day
weekend holiday. Despite the low-cal dip, the mark is still 27.2 percent
higher than last year at this time. Of the week's sales, 43.2 percent
were lender-mediated foreclosures and short sales. In week-by-week,
year-over-year comparisons, sales are expected to be higher than last
year for the remainder of the year. Contact me

Heavy sales and soft growth in new listings equate to no growth in the
supply of homes for sale this spring—the time of year that typically
shows the largest increases. There are currently 26,453 active listings,
lagging 19.6 percent behind this time in 2008. Full Report Here

This week's edition of the MAAR Weekly Market Activity Report
features a new Supply-Demand Ratio for June 2009 of 5.04, which
means that there will be 5.04 houses per buyer during the month. This
is an astounding 33.4 percent drop compared to June 2008.

Any help you need buying or selling, please drop me an email!

Or call me at 612-308-4708