For only the second time since the end of last year's tax credit, there were more Pending Sales for a given week than in the prior year. A total of 958 buyers entered into contract for the week ending May 14, an increase of 15.4 percent and the highest number of pendings since the week ending May 8, 2010.
But let's not get too excited just yet, because this apparent shift in Twin Cities home purchase activity was primarily driven by the post-tax-credit slowdown seen at this time last year. To illustrate this point, 2011 sales activity has increased 4.1 percent since the final week of April, while 2010 saw a 43.5 percent decrease during the same period.
On the supply side, New Listings have come back in line with historical norms for this time of year. Sellers brought 1,704 new homes online, or 7.7 percent more than the same time in 2010. Again, 2011 activity has been fairly stable over the past month while 2010 activity declined by nearly 33 percent.
The 23,739 Active Listings for Sale have grown slightly over the course of the year, but remain 10.1 percent under 2010 inventory levels or about 2,700 units slimmer. All those crunches are really starting to pay off as we enter bikini season.
