The State of the Minneapolis St. Paul

Real Estate Market has improved significantly.

Dateline: February 2013

Here is a rundown of the latest statistics for the 13 county metro areas. The most recent numbers I have are through January, 2013.

Between 2007 and 2011, the state of the Minneapolis and St. Paul Real Estate housing markets were overburdened with distressed properties, excessive supply and weak consumer demand. We saw many signs of market recovery throughout 2012. Assuming interest rates and job growth cooperate, 2013 should be another positive year for housing. For the 12-month period spanning January 2012 through December 2012, pending sales in the Twin cities region were up 17.9 percent overall.

Low mortgage rates, affordable prices and rising rents created a three-point play that bolstered consumer confidence. On a national scale, natural disasters, fiscal cliffs, contested elections and sovereign debt crises could not slow down buyers. Consequently, home values are ticking higher in many regions. Traditional sellers are returning just as banks seem to be listing fewer distressed properties.

Buyer rebound remained strong throught the year. Better still, housing demand strengthened without performance-enhancing government incentives. Closed sales were up about 16.9 percent to 48,641 for the year. Only 39.7 percent of them were distressed, compared to 50.0 percent in 2011.

Many local communities are on the brink of a housing shortage, which has given rise to new construction in certain neighborhoods. Move-in ready inventory is at a premium. Qualified buyers wanting to take advantage of near record low interest rates are growing frustrated with the low inventory of homes to choose from. Well-priced and well-presented listings are selling in less time and fetching more than 94.0 percent of the list price at sale, significantly higher than in recent years. Moreover, Forbes ranks Minneapolis St. Paul high in a variety of capacities including: Best Places for Business Careers, Best Places for Singles and Americas Safest Cities.

Local and Nation State of the Real Estate market:

Both locally and nationally, home prices are turning a corner. In fact, we ended 2012 with an 11.9 percent median price gain compared to 2011. At $167,900, prices have come down 26.6 percent from their peak in 2006 and are recovering from the lows of 2011.

Source: Forbes, NorthstarMLS and Minneapolis Realtor “The Skinny”