by M. Anthony Carr
Minneapolis/St. Paul Realtors reported this month that pending sales have jumped in the City of Lakes by more than 28 percent. Across the board, the metropolis inventory of homes is slipping and sales moving up as prices have leveled and buyers come out of the woodwork.
Realtor/Blogger T.J. Larson of Edina Realty says the rebound has come about because of multiple reasons: "Part of this year's increase is due to legitimate increases in demand brought about by attractive prices, still-healthy mortgage rates and a 'last call' flurry of consumers utilizing FHA's seller-funded down payment assistance program before it is discontinued on October 1," he writes on his blog, "The other reason for the year-over-year surge is the Valley Fair-esque downward dive that activity took last year at this time amidst the initial media frenzy surrounding the now-infamous 'credit crunch.'"
The Monthly Indicators report from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors states: "To put this in perspective, there has not been a year-over-year increase in pending sales in 30 months and no increase this large in 41 months."
The median sales price for a home is now at $208,000, down about 10 percent year over year. Nevertheless, median prices have been on the rise month after month for all of 2008.
Published: September 12, 2008
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Mr. Carr has covered real estate since 1989. He is the author of