Weekly Market Activity Report


Sumac



For the week ending October 16, New Listings in the Twin Cities declined only 2.1 percent from the same week last year with 1,424 properties entering the market. That’s the smallest year-over-year decline in nine weeks, as the gap comparing last year’s performance with this continues to close.

Weekly Pending Sales are still stuck around the 600 mark. The 580 purchase agreements signed for the week translated into a 39.2 percent drop from last year at this time. That year-over-year decline is nothing new to regular followers of the Weekly Market Activity Report.

The real story continues to be the delicate balance between buyer and seller activity. As of October 25, the 26,606 active listings were 11.3 percent greater than the same week in 2009. For only the second time in the past 25 weeks, the magnitude of inventory growth is smaller than the previous week. In other words, the rate of inventory increase is decelerating. If it sounds like we’re scrounging for good news, we are. Even so, this shouldn’t be overlooked.







Monthly Skinny: October 2010

Check out this short latest video from the Mpls Area Association of Realtors regarding the current Twin Cities Housing Market.

Paint color trends - Paint Quality Institute

Paint color trends - Paint Quality Institute
Color trends for 2010 take inspiration from a variety of social and economic influences. In addition, living space personalization continues to act as a driver for color change with accent walls or niche areas appropriate for small doses of high impact, bold color while using more subtle hues on broad wall areas.



More and more homeowners are taking on the task of simple home projects to save money and improve their current space. Conversely, others are sprucing up in preparation for placing their home on the market.

Regardless of the purpose, a fresh coat of paint remains one of the most economical ways to accomplish all three. No matter what paint color is used, homeowners continue to strive for comfortable, tranquil home environments.

Good Morning
While over-the-top renovations aren’t the norm today, handy homeowners are tackling small manageable home improvements, such as the addition of a morning kitchen to a bedroom or home office.
With consumers continued desire to create both warm and functional spaces the Good Morning palette consists of hues that are fresh, clean and comfortable.
Color Recommendations:
Honey-like hues such as tan or pale gold
Coral
Yellow
Mineral Grey

Good Night
The inspiration for the Good Night palette comes from above—the ceiling. Why sleep beneath a lackluster white canopy? Wrap any space with constant color by painting the ceiling in a tint, tone or shade of the wall color or add a softer touch by paring pastel hues. From pastels to deep-tones, Good Night hues, as you might expect, are especially useful in bedrooms and baths or to “warm-up” a family space.
Color Recommendations:
Pastel hues, particularly pale blue or shell pink for ceilings
Midnight blue
Eggplant
Wine


Good Bye
Home staging continues to grow in popularity as property owners look for home sale assistance. The Good Bye palette reflects an assortment of simplistic hues that work across a variety of spaces creating a welcoming first impression and suitable backdrop for any living area.

Whether you’re saying good-bye to one home or hello to another, this classic palette is suitable for all areas and is an especially good choice for foyers, kitchens and family living spaces.
Color Recommendations:
Khaki pared with crisp white
Mid-toned Blues
Off-White, Sandy Tan
Black
No matter which hue attracts attention this year, consumers continue to have an increased appreciation for paint quality and value. And, why not? It remains a personal choice for a personal space—it’s about time.

http://www.paintquality.com/homeowners/paint-design/paint-color/color-trends.html



An Evening Paddle

 Weekly Market Activity Report

As the mercury inches downward outside, grab your favorite hot beverage and let’s review the buyers and sellers weekly dance card. Bear in mind that current activity may look especially slow compared to last year’s tax-credit-induced performance.

For the week ending October 9, sellers continued to pick up their tempo by introducing 1,479 new listings to the marketplace. That’s only 4.1 percent fewer new homes than last year at this time, as the year-over-year comparison gap continues to narrow. Buyers danced to a slower beat. The 523 pending sales for the week were 44.8 percent fewer than last year. That’s the largest decline in 13 weeks.

With seller activity slowly returning and buyer activity remaining sluggish, inventory levels are still high. There were 26,866 active listings as of October 18. Keep a close watch on this metric, as it emphasizes the dynamic balance between supply and demand—the most critical forces affecting the market. There is some good news in the mix. At 220, housing affordability is at an all-time high. The availability of low cost homes combined with low interest rates have created an extraordinary buying opportunity.

Johnny Cash's Guitar @
The Country Music Hall of Fame
Nashville, TN

Weekly Market Activity Report
We're used to seeing housing activity slow down at this time of year. Trouble is, this seasonal slowdown is amplified when compared to a front-loaded 2010 selling season and a comparably strong tax-credit-driven 4th quarter 2009 selling season. The net effect is that year-over-year changes are comparing an incentive period to a non-incentive period. Keep that in mind in the coming weeks when looking over the latest housing market figures.

For the week ending October 2, sellers placed 5.3 percent fewer homes on the market. In sum, 1,541 new properties came online during the week. By comparison, over the past three months, the average decline between this and last year's activity is 9.1 percent.

The 630 pending sales during the week were 39.6 percent fewer than the same week last year. Since the second week of June, the percentage decline in buyer activity from the same week last year has ranged between 48 and 34 percent. That's not a pretty picture for the most recent four-month period.

Inventory continued along its growth path, checking in at 27,033 as of October 12. This was an 11.0 percent increase over last year at this time, which is the largest increase since the final week of January 2008. Market times and negotiations are starting to reflect this trend.

Weekly Market Activity Report

In the Twin Cities metropolitan area, the frost that some of us found on our lawns also kept the housing market in a sort of frozen state. For the week ending September 25, sellers placed 1,382 new homes on the market, which was 19.9 percent fewer than last year at this time. Over the past three months, listing activity has been an average of 9.2 percent under last year's levels.

Buyer activity produced 41.7 percent fewer purchase agreements than last year at this time. There were 616 contracts signed, and as the graph on page 3 illustrates, Pending Sales are still mimicking last year's activity, except with roughly 400 fewer sales. For the three-month average, the decline rests at 39.0 percent below 2009 levels.

Be aware that we're in an apples-to-oranges comparison period since the tax credit was in force last year at this time. Year-over-year comparisons may appear artificially low due to a market incentive that no longer exists.

Inventory levels are a crucial metric to watch, as they tell the story of whether listings overwhelm the market during times of slow purchase demand. As of October 4, there were 26,915 active listings on the market, 9.8 percent more than the same week in 2009.