Here's some excellent news on this Recap of 2012 by Mpls Area Association of Realtors.  Looks like 2013 will start strong

 

2012 Annual Wrap-Up: Real Market Recovery Takes Hold

Minneapolis, Minnesota (January 11, 2013) –Decreased supply, strong demand and higher prices are among the encouraging developments in 2012 that make the case for continued recovery in 2013. Consumer purchase demand increased organically, absent any government incentives. As the active supply of homes for sale fell to 10-year lows, absorption rates improved to levels also not seen since 2003. Multi-decade low interest rates and record housing affordability resulted in a 16.9 percent increase in home sales for the 13-county metro.

2012 by the Numbers
• Sellers listed 65,914 new homes on the market, a modest 4.3 percent decrease from 2011 and a 10-year low.
• Buyers purchased 48,641 homes, up 16.9 percent from 2011 and the highest figure since 2006 (783 units shy).
• Inventory levels dropped 31.8 percent from 2011 to 11,875 units, the lowest level in 10 years.
• Months Supply of Inventory dropped 42.2 percent to 2.9 months.
• The Median Sales Price of closed sales was up, rising 11.9 percent to $167,900.
• Cumulative Days on Market was down 20.6 percent to 117 days, on average.
• Lender-mediated properties made up a smaller share of overall activity
• 34.6 percent of all New Listings were lender-mediated (either foreclosures or short sales), down from 41.9 percent in 2011 and 42.6 percent in 2010
• 37.3 percent of all Inventory was lender-mediated, down from 44.4 percent in 2011 and 47.4 percent in 2010
• 39.7 percent of all Closed Sales were lender-mediated, down from 50.0 percent in 2011 and 47.9 percent in 2010

Here's some good news about Foreclosure Inventory from Certified Residential Specialist Connect.

The inventory of foreclosed homes continues to shrink, according to the latest figures released by Core Logic. Some 1.2 million homes, representing 3.0 percent of all homes with a mortgage, were in the national foreclosure inventory at the end of November, down from 1.5 million homes that were in foreclosure in November 2011. Some 55,000 U.S. properties completed the foreclosure process in November, down 23 percent from a year ago when foreclosures totaled 72,000, and they declined 6 percent from the 59,000 foreclosures in October.
California, Florida, Michigan, Texas and Georgia had the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending November 2012 and collectively, they accounted for half of all foreclosures nationwide. The states with the largest inventory of foreclosures as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were Florida, New Jersey, New York, Nevada and Illinois.
By Regina Ludes, Friday, 4 January 2013 - 2:46pm

Happy New Year.  Here's the latest Weekly Update from
MAAR, Mpls Area Association of Realtors

 

While you're eating better and exercising more, also resolve to better understand

of your housing market. Data does not have to be daunting.

Just from the existing trends, it's safe to expect to see more homes selling in less

time for closer to list price. It also looks like the single-family detached segment
may recover faster than the condo-townhouse attached segment. It would be wise
to watch foreclosure activity to see whether there will be fewer low-priced sales in
2013. Many patterns emerge if you look in the right places.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending December 22:

• New Listings increased 9.5% to 657
• Pending Sales increased 41.7% to 815
• Inventory decreased 29.2% to 13,315

For the month of November:

• Median Sales Price increased 16.4% to $172,287
• Days on Market decreased 26.5% to 103
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 3.6% to 94.2%
• Months Supply of Inventory decreased 38.8% to 3.5

Mt Ranier, WA on July 4th, 2012 This year, there's a lot to be thankful for beyond the traditional holiday bird. Home buyers can be thankful for record-low mortgage rates. Sellers can be thankful for the possibility of getting more money in less listing time. Some homeowners are thankful for the housing recovery because it may alleviate underwater situations. Tryptophan doesn't seem to be slowing buyer and seller optimism. In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending November 17: • New Listings increased 11.4% to 1,046 • Pending Sales increased 9.8% to 843 • Inventory decreased 29.4% to 14,770  For the month of October: • Median Sales Price increased 14.8% to $175,000 • Days on Market decreased 25.2% to 103 • Percent of Original List Price Received increased 3.5% to 94.5% • Months Supply of Inventory decreased 40.1% to 3.7

Mpls Area Association of Realtors Weekly Market Activity Report  The housing market is improving. But don't take our word for it. CoreLogic, Standard Poor's, FHFA and the NAHB all closely monitor a diverse array of housing data and indicators. At some point over the past six months, every single one of these indices has either reached a multi-year high or has shown several consecutive months of im- provements. Does that mean every home in every neighborhood in every city across America is worth more today than it was a year ago? Of course not. But you'd be sur- prised just how robust this recovery is. Go ahead, dig into the numbers & see for yourself. In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending October 20:  • New Listings increased 0.6% to 1,110  • Pending Sales increased 33.3% to 1,012  • Inventory decreased 28.5% to 15,903 For the month of September: • Median Sales Price increased 12.8% to $174,813 • Days on Market decreased 28.5% to 101 • Percent of Original List Price Received increased 4.0% to 94.8% • Months Supply of Inventory decreased 39.2% to 4.1

Here's a quick interesting article about "Black Monday" which occurred 25 years ago last week.  The Dow closed at 1738.74 that day. 
NPR; 25 years since Black Monday

Well, more good news for sellers.  According to the CRS Connect blog, housing prices are continuing to rise.

By Regina Ludes, Tuesday, 4 September 2012 - 3:19pm


U.S. home prices, including distressed sales, increased 3.8 percent in July compared to a year ago, the biggest year-over-year increase since August 2006, according to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Index report. Home prices also increased 1.3 percent in July compared to June. The July figures mark the fifth consecutive month that home prices rose on both an annual and monthly basis.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices rose 4.3 percent in July from the previous year and increased 1.7 percent from June.

“It’s been six years since the housing market last experienced the gains that we saw in July, with indications the summer will finish up on a strong note,” says CoreLogic’s president and CEO Anand Nallathambi, “Although we expect some slowing in price gains over the balance of 2012, we are clearly seeing the light at the end of a very long tunnel.”

Including distressed sales, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, South Dakota and Colorado had the highest home price appreciation rates, while Delaware, Alabama, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Illinois had the highest deprecation rates.

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