Twin Cities median home prices in the 13 county metro area in April 2013 were the highest since September 2008!  This was the 14^th month in a row for price gains.  New listings were up 7.7% over April 2012 and purchase agreements were up 16%.  Inventory levels continue to decline by 29.3%. Traditional listings made up 77.9% of the market which is the highest level since October 2007! On the average, traditional sale homes sold in 90 days, foreclosures in 94 days and short sales in 178 days.  Right now there is only a 3.1 month supply of inventory on the market. If the recovery is going to continue, more sellers will need to enter the market.

According to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, home sale prices in Minneapolis improved for the 12^th month in a row in February!

In Minneapolis in February 2013, there were 2,736 closed home sales, down 4.7% from a year earlier. The number of homes for sale dropped 31.6% to 12,202 active listings. This represents the lowest number since January 2003.

Listings of traditional sales is up and distressed properties is down which is great for the market. Traditional sales jumped 21.5% year-over-year, while foreclosures and short sales dropped 23.5% and 28.5%, respectively.

Buyers are out in force this spring and they are motivated, now we just need the sellers to get their homes on the market so there is something for these buyers to purchase!

Kiplinger.com took a look at U.S. cities with populations of over a half million to find out where the home prices increased the most in 2012.  Of the top 5 cities, Minneapolis came in at number 4!  The other cities in the top five were Phoenix, AZ, Provo, UT, Cape Coral Fort Myers, FL and Akron, OH.

4. Minneapolis, Minnesota

One-year change in home prices: +16.8%
Median home price: $188,000
Change in price since peak: -33.7%
Unemployment rate: 5.3%
Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 682 households (0.15%)

The Minnesota Nice ethic didn’t protect the Twin Cities from the excesses of the boom years. But the metro area’s real estate market is coming back strongly now. In October 2012, sales grew by 15.1% from the year before, and the inventory of homes for sale fell by 29.7%. The months’ supply was 3.7, slightly favoring sellers. The average time for a home to sell was 104 days, down from last year but still lengthy. Sellers received an average of 94% of their original list price.

Inventory stands at a nearly ten-year low. Distressed sales in this market are the lowest of all the cities on the best list, just 15% of all sales. As homeowners see prices continue to rise, they’ll overcome their hesitancy and begin to list their homes for sale, increasing inventory and moderating the pace of price hikes.

To read the whole article, click here.

According to Freddie Mac, REO (bank owned homes) inventory is down from it’s peak.  Back in 2010 at the peak, there were about 75,000 homes in their inventory and now they are at about 53,000, about a 30% decrease.

With the economy picking up and unemployment decreasing, foreclosures are slowing and there is less housing inventory on the market with more buyers so they are snapping up homes that do come on the market.

Some of the banks are also starting to work with the mortgage holders as soon as a payment is missed in an effort to keep them in their home rather than go through a foreclosure.

This has all resulted in a smaller inventory of REO properties.