There's an upside to the nation's housing glut, fed by the crush of foreclosures: Housing gets more affordable.
In Minnesota, closed home sales were up 14.25 percent from one year ago, as indicated from the 13 county metro housing statistics released by the Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS® today.
Nationwide, sales of existing homes rose 5.1% to 4.72 million from January to February - the largest sales jump since July 2003, the National Association of Realtors reports.
The surprising increase was driven by buyers taking advantage of big discounts on foreclosed homes. The median sale price was $165,400, down 15.5% from a year earlier and down 28% from their peak in July 2006.
First-time home buyers who could not break into the housing market in the boom years are prime buyers now that prices are at or near bottom and mortgage interest rates are below 5%.
According to Cindy Moynihan with Prime Mortgage, "the stimulus tax credit is working. We have seen a remarkable increase in the number of mortgage applications compared to last year and we have a number of clients that are in the pre-approval process ready to purchase a home". She goes on to say that "first time homebuyers have been given $8,000 that does not have to be repaid and they are ready to spend it."
Another good sign in this spring market is the decline in the number of new listings added to the overall inventory in the Twin Cities metro area. There were 7,870 new listings added in March compared to 8,523 in March 08, a 7.66 percent decline. Meantime, median sales price in the Twin Cites metro continues to search for its low point. The median sales price for a single-family, residential property in March 09 was reported at $154,125, a 22.94 percent decline from one year ago. The median sales price one year ago was $200,000. However, as inventory decreases and as buyers get motivated by low interest rates and tax credit programs, the median sales price could be close to reaching its floor. For the first time since July of last year the median sales price increased on a month-over-month basis by 2.75 percent. The median sales price one month ago was $150,000. Housing statistics include existing single family homes, condominiums and townhomes.
Statistics are provided by the Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS® and are based on data supplied by the Regional Multiple Listing Service.
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