The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors has released the latest market statistics for the Twin Cities for the week ending November 24.Home buyers entered more contracts and homeowners listed more properties than during the same week of 2011. As a whole, 2012 is shaping up to be quite the pivotal year for housing. With 2013 right around the corner, the smart money is monitoring seller concessions, market times, absorption rates and, of course, home prices. The genius money is watching foreclosure listing and sales volumes, delinquency rates and showing activity.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending November 24:

• New Listings increased 0.7% to 607
• Pending Sales increased 12.8% to 608
• Inventory decreased 28.8% to 14,546

The market statistics for the week ending November 17 are out.  Home buyers are still enjoying record low mortgage interest rates and sellers are seeing their home sell for more money and a bit faster due to the low inventory of homes for sale.  These two factors continue to fuel the real estate turn around.

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

The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors latest market statistics for the Twin Cities for the week ending September 22 are out.

• New Listings decreased 1.1% to 1,295
• Pending Sales increased 22.8% to 1,078
• Inventory decreased 29.4% to 16,428

The things to be watching for this fall are the same things you’ve likely been watching all year. Changes in sales levels, active listings, market times, seller concessions and, of course, home prices have taken center stage. To showcase just one, home prices may moderate on a month-to-month basis but should continue to demonstrate resiliency in a year-over-year sense. While the economy has been sending some mixed signals lately, one aspect of this recovery remains convincing: housing will be a net contributor.

Where Twin Cities Market residential real estate statistics are concerned, observers should be watching for overarching, macro-level trends rather than any one volatile, outlying week or month’s worth of data. Thinking in a big-picture manner is beneficial in numerous ways. Consider this: Despite media coverage of dreaded shadow foreclosure inventory or a new rush to rent by former owners, our nation’s homeownership rate has fallen no more than 3.0 percent from its peak in 2004. The figure crested around 69.0 percent and now lies just above 66.0 percent.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending August 18:

• New Listings decreased 3.5% to 1,286
• Pending Sales increased 25.2% to 1,118
• Inventory decreased 29.8% to 16,878

***Data from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors