What to Watch for:

This information was provided by The Greater Lakes Association of REALTORS

HOUSING MOVING IN RIGHT DIRECTION

After three difficult years, residential real estate numbers appear to be stabilizing and moving in a very positive direction for Minnesota homeowners. In a report just released by the Minnesota and Greater Lakes Association of REALTORS® sales figures are showing consistent improvement over 2008 and 2009.

“Home owners in the Greater Lakes Area of Central Minnesota are beginning to see some very positive signs,” said Kevin Goedker, president of the Greater Lakes Association of REALTORS® (GLAR). “After a few years of unprecedented activity, the real estate market is in the early stages of recovery.”

Closed transactions as reported by the GLAR are up 3% in March 2010 when compared to March 2009. This is on top of the 2.6% increase in February and 3.6% in January. Increased transaction numbers indicate that consumers are moving back into real estate and feeling confident about their future.

Pending transactions are trending positively when compared to pending transaction numbers of the last few years. A pending transaction is a home under contract that has yet to close. Real estate transactions generally have a 30 to 90 day lag time while buyers secure financing and conduct inspections. March 2010 pending transactions are up 32.9% and 43.3% over 2009 and 2008 respectively.

Median home prices in the Greater Lakes Area are still stabilizing after the price bubble of a few years ago. The current median home price in the GLAR area through March is $118,000 down 1.6% from a year ago. The Average Home price however increased 1.7% to $143,213 in March from the same time a year earlier.

 “Minnesota’s housing market will not turnaround overnight” said Michael Hoffman, President of the Minnesota Association of REALTORS®. “The Minnesota Housing Report clearly shows that the residential real estate market has turned a corner and is moving in the right direction.”

Statewide, closed transactions are up 3.1% year-to-date with pending transactions up 14.1% over last year. “Consumers are taking advantage of the Home Buyer Tax Credit, low interest rates and an attractive inventory of homes for sale.” said Hoffman.

Home prices across the state are increasing, with the median home price at $145,000 through March. Median indicates the price point at which there are as many transactions above as below the stated price. The statewide average sales price is $177,779, an increase of 4.4% over March 2009.

The Minnesota Association of REALTORS® is “The Voice for Real Estate” in Minnesota representingnearly 20,000 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry.

The Gallery of Homes is a member of both the Greater Lakes Association of REALTORS and the Minneapolis Association of REALTORS which provides the Northstar MLS system serving the twin cities area which is the 5^th largest MLS system in the country. As a member of this association, we receive a real estate review for this market as well. Because the twin cities real estate market does have a direct impact on our local real estate market, I thought I would share the latest report we received from them:

Weekly Market Activity Report

With the final days of the tax credit ticking away, buyers and sellers are hitting overdrive in an attempt to cash in on the credit’s considerable incentives.

For the week ending April 10 there were a whopping 2,527 new listings, a huge jump of 47.9 percent over the same week in 2009. Only 28 percent of these are re-lists of properties that have already been on the market in the last year (the number was 33 percent a year ago at this time), so we know that many of these listings are brand new.

Pending sales were a little closer to year-over year figures, with the 1,084 signed purchase agreements just 3.6 percent above 2009 numbers. And proving the axiom that “Everything Rises Must Converge” the number of active listings is finally higher than it was last year. That’s the first time that has happened since April 2008.

Click Here To View the Full March Real Estate Review

Please feel free to contact me with any questions

Dan Pflugshaupt

REALTOR, GRI, e-PRO

218-839-7700

Dan@GalleryofHomesMN.com

Specializing in North Central Minnesota Lakeshore & Recreational Property