March 2019 real estate stats are in, and even though inventory dropped 4.2% compared to last March, that is much better than the 19.3% drop we experienced last year. If you look at the historical graph above, you can see how the trajectory is changing. Even though inventory is still low, it at least shows signs of improving. Now that we hopefully have snow storms behind us, I expect it to improve even more.
New listings dropped 8.8% over last year, compared to 17.3% the year before. Closed sales dropped 9.3% and pending sales dropped 13.0%, both slightly more than last year… but also keep in mind that our never ending snowfall put a damper on house hunting.
But inventory and sales aren’t the only things that have been falling. Interest rates have been falling steadily since the beginning of this year. The average mortgage interest rate for 2018 was 4.6%. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate last week was 4.12%.
Median sales price continued to rise, with March 2019 6.5% over last year, a little lower than the 9.8% rise in March 2018. Percent list price received dropped to 98.5% and days on market increased to 66, both still good for sellers but also encouraging for buyers.
Overall months supply of inventory dropped 4.2%, a big improvement over last year’s drop of 19.3%. But 1.6 months is still a sign of a strong seller’s market. (The market is considered balanced between buyer and seller at 5-6 months supply.) Townhomes continue to be the housing type in shortest supply.
There is less than a 2-month supply of homes available in all price ranges under $350,000, and prices $350k-$500k aren’t much better at 2.8 months. Homes in the $500k-$1M are approaching a balanced market. Only buyers in the $1M category can expect the lower competition of buyer’s market conditions.
Melting snow, warming temperatures, longer days and lower interest rates should all contribute to a bustling market in the next few months as we literally experience the spring thaw.
The figures above are based on statistics 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.
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Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
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