Real Estate Weekly Update
October 18, 2010
As the temperature drop outside, grab your favorite hot beverage and let’s review the buyers and sellers weekly dance card. Current activity may look especially slow compared to last year’s tax-credit-induced performance.
For the week ending October 9, sellers picked up their tempo by introducing 1,479 new listings to the marketplace. The year-over-year comparison gap continues to narrow as this figure represents 4.1 percent fewer new homes than last year at this time. Buyers continue dancing to a slower beat. The 523 pending sales for the week were 44.8 percent fewer than last year–the largest decline in 13 weeks.
inventory levels are still high with seller activity on the rise and buyer activity remaining sluggish. There were 26,866 active listings as of October 18. Keep a close watch on this metric, as it emphasizes the dynamic balance between supply and demand—the most critical forces affecting the market.
There is some good news. Housing affordability is at 220, an all-time high. The availability of low-interest rates combined with low-cost homes combined have created an extraordinary buying opportunity.
Statistics provided by the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®.
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