2016 continues to be an amazing year for real estate. Sales set a 12-year high in October this year…
…as inventory fell to 19% below last October. At this rate it should be at or below the bottom of the chart by the end of the year.
New listings continued to fall, with October 2016 9.5% below October 2015. Pending sales were up 1.6% over last year as buyers continued to search for homes from the limited supply to avoid high rents and take advantage of interest rates that are starting to rise.
All of this results in the continued challenge of inventory too low to support demand. October 2016 months supply of inventory was only 2.5 months… 24.2% below last October! This short supply is keeping prices strong, with October median sale price of $230,000 6.5% above last year.
The low supply of homes continues to be the factor having the biggest impact on our real estate market. People are staying in their homes longer than in the past, some because of concerns over finding another home to buy. Mortgage rates are more volatile now with a new political cycle and buyers likely to be more eager than ever to find a home to buy before interest rates climb higher. This continues to be a great time for sellers thinking about making a move.
The figures and charts above are for the combined 13-county Twin Cities metropolitan area released by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.
Never forget that all real estate is local and what is happening in your neighborhood may be very different from the overall metro area.
Local real estate market reports on 350+ metro area communities
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – Email – Minneapolis – St. Paul Real Estate Market
HomesMSP Team- Sharlene, John, Angela – Minneapolis-St. Paul Realtors
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