Monthly Skinny: July 2012

Another "Monthly Skinny" with Great News for Sellers.  Low Inventory Levels & High Buyer Demand make it a great time to SELL!  There were 17,103 Active Listing, as of the end of June.  Thats' the lowest amount of Active Listings since January, 2004.  WOW!!!  Take a look at this 3 minute video from Mpls Area Association of Realtors to get "The Skinny".   

Summer Heat

Back from Vacation.  Went to Oregon for a lovely family wedding & then spent a few days in the National Parks.  We missed the heat wave. Here's the latest from the Mpls Area Association of Realtors. Weekly Market Activity Report Summer heat waves roll across the northland as election season also heats up. Meanwhile, as the mercury and partisan rhetoric both escalate, residential real estate continues to show signs consistent with market recovery. For the current round of numbers, both buyer and seller activity levels were higher than last year at this time. Buyers have been taking advantage of historic affordability levels for some time, but renewed seller confidence is a more recent development and some would even call it an encouraging omen, as long as supply levels don't exceed a prior apex. In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending June 30: • New Listings increased 0.1% to 1,414 • Pending Sales increased 20.4% to 1,194 • Inventory decreased 31.0% to 17,417 For the month of June: • Median Sales Price increased 10.4% to $179,000 • Days on Market decreased 22.0% to 113 • Percent of Original List Price Received increased 4.0% to 95.0%  Months Supply of Inventory decreased 44.7% to 4.4.

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Kitchen Styles Through The Decades, Part 1

Here's a fun short article about Kitchen Trends from Remodeling Magazine.  The pics alone are worth the look.  My fav, the Brady Bunch Kitchen.  But then again, I was a child of the 70's & had a little crush on Peter Brady.

Kitchen Styles Through The Decades, Part 1

Monthly Skinny: May 2012

Take a quick look at the Monthly Skinny, put out by the Minneapolis Areas Association of Realtors.   Inventory Levels are down 50% from the peak levels.  I wrote 3 offers this weekend for "Ready, Willing, &  Able" buyers, so there definately is high demand out there.

Yes, the market is shifting.  That good old Supply & Demand from Economics 101 is coming into play.  Inventory levels continue to drop & sales are trending upward.  Barring some major economic issue or a new wave of Bank Owned Foreclosures coming on the market, Real Estate is starting to look a little more rosy.  Check out the Weekly Market Activity Report from MAAR (Mpls Area Association of Realtors).

Weekly Market Activity Report

Buyers don't live in a spreadsheet. When they find a home to love and cherish, they don't intellectualize it too much.  There are generally fewer homes on the market, they're selling more quickly and prices in most areas are no longer in a downtrend. Dwindling inventories means there's less competition and more pricing power for sellers, who are finally starting to be rewarded by strong buyer activity. Interest rates at 50-year lows doesn't hurt either. Love is in the air and all around the housing market.

Quick Facts

Change in New Listings    - 14.9%   

Change in Pending Sales  + 21.4%   

Change in Inventory          - 28.0%