Lauren Novak

As we near the end of the year, overall real estate activity slows as many buyers and sellers briefly turn their focus from real estate to the holidays, family, and friends. With mortgage rates closing the year at near record lows, and almost one percent lower than a year ago, home purchase mortgage loan application volume remains high and continues to signal strong buyer demand going into the new year.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending December 26:

• New Listings increased 22.0% to 338
• Pending Sales increased 17.0% to 593
• Inventory decreased 37.9% to 5,777

For the month of November:

• Median Sales Price increased 10.7% to $310,000
• Days on Market decreased 33.3% to 34
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.8% to 100.2%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 40.9% to 1.3

All comparisons are to 2019

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From MAAR Market Data News.

According to research by realtor.com®, all-cash home purchases make up about 36% of the market, which is up only slightly from last year. While the middle-price tiers saw about the same percentage of all-cash sales as last year, the low end of the market (under $200,000) and the very top of the market (over $1 million) saw higher shares of cash sales this year than last.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending December 19:

• New Listings increased 28.1% to 693
• Pending Sales increased 24.4% to 923
• Inventory decreased 37.0% to 6,137

For the month of November:

• Median Sales Price increased 10.7% to $310,000
• Days on Market decreased 33.3% to 34
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.8% to 100.2%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 38.1% to 1.3

All comparisons are to 2019

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From MAAR Market Data News.

The National Association of Home Builders reports that lumber prices are rising again. After hitting an all-time high of near $950 per thousand board feet in September, prices slid to near $550 per thousand board feet in October but are now above $650 per thousand board feet in December. High lumber prices have contributed to significant price increases in most new construction homes this year and increases the costs of remodeling as well. A tariff reduction expected this month may help soften lumber costs in the coming weeks.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending December 12:

• New Listings increased 23.6% to 870
• Pending Sales increased 10.0% to 838
• Inventory decreased 36.5% to 6,421

For the month of November:

• Median Sales Price increased 10.7% to $310,000
• Days on Market decreased 33.3% to 34
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.8% to 100.2%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 38.1% to 1.3

All comparisons are to 2019

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From MAAR Market Data News.

The National Association of REALTORS® released a new report analyzing relocation trends during the pandemic. From March through October 2020, 8.9 million people moved according to the NAR’s analysis of USPS change-of-address data. While this sounds substantial, when comparing to the same period last year, only approximately 94,000 more people moved this year than a year ago. The biggest trend was people moving from large cities to surrounding suburbs, with those counties located closest to big cities seeing the highest relocation gains.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending December 5:

• New Listings decreased 2.9% to 851
• Pending Sales increased 7.1% to 999
• Inventory decreased 35.3% to 6,748

For the month of October:

• Median Sales Price increased 12.5% to $315,000
• Days on Market decreased 23.9% to 35
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.4% to 100.5%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 36.0% to 1.6

All comparisons are to 2019

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From MAAR Market Data News.