Inventory has been in a basic falling pattern since the 2007 peak, but 2020 has hit a new low, 37.9% below last year at this time. Activity usually is slowing down at this time of year, but 2020 has been setting records all year. New listings in November actually increased 1.3% over last year, but that wasn’t enough to keep up with increases of 13.4% in pending sales and 18.6% in closed sales.
This fueled fierce competition for homes for sale, resulting in a drop in average days on market to only 34 days, 33.3% below November 2019. Sale prices averaged 2% over list price, something unusual for November. Median sales price for November hit a new record, at $310,000.
Months supply of inventory, the amount of time it would take for the current supply to be sold out if sales continued at the current rate, is again in record low territory. At 42.9% below last November, it is the biggest drop all year. All property types averaged together have a 1.2 month supply. Houses have a 1.1 month supply, townhouses a 1.0 month supply. If you are looking for condos you will have better luck, with a 3.3 month supply. The market is considered balanced between buyer and seller when there is a 5-6 month supply.
Of course there are differences by price range, but not as much as you might think. It is an extreme seller’s market in prices below $1M, with the shortest supply in the $190,000-$250,000 price range. But even homes priced $1,000,000 and over are at the high end of the balanced market range of 5-6 months.
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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