This video update from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) is a good snapshot of what is happening in our market right now. What it leaves out is what is happening at the upper price-brackets, which I’ll get to in a moment. Also, here is a basic market update on stats such as average days on market until a sale etc.

First: In the Minneapolis and St. Paul area real estate market, we are burning through our supply of foreclosures much faster than we are short sales and with good reason: Foreclosures are much easier to deal with than are short sales. Even though the foreclosure process is after the short sale process, the bank deals and replies to foreclosure offers (usually) in a much timelier manner than they do short sales. Right now our market inventory is  @ 2,000 foreclosure units – or about a 2.3 month supply. However, our short sale inventory is @ 4,200 units, which is about a 12.6 month supply (keeping in mind short sales sell less and take longer to sell).

Our housing market will never be in true recovery mode (as a whole) until we A) greatly reduce the existing short-sale and foreclosure (distressed property) inventory B) greatly reduce the potential distressed properties, C) Stabilize the employment sectors and D) See true, tenable signs of recovery in our economy in general. We will really have to let the distressed properties run their course and ‘burn-off’ the current supply and also the future supply (of which it appears there is still a fair amount coming down the pike).

Now does this mean it is doom and gloom in all areas of the our local or national real estate market? The answer is a definite no. As I’ve been saying all along, some micro-markets – at certain price points – within our local and national markets are still holding strong and steady.  Examples: Certain parts of Southwest Minneapolis ($175K-$350K) , Edina ($225K-$415K), St. Louis Park ($175K-$250K) and West Bloomington ($175K-$300K) have all had busy activity and strong sales.  Of course, the $8,000 home-buyer tax credit and low interest rates have been a great motivator, but these areas usually hold well anyhow.

Upper-bracket sales update: As is much the case nationwide, in general, in the twin-cities, there is a large inventory of upper-bracket homes on the market. In the twin cities metro, we currently have about a 35-month inventory @ $1-million and up. Now this does not mean that a home in the Edina Country Club, South Harriet Park, Parkwood Knolls, or in Kenwood, Lake of the Isles, Lowry Hill, Lynnhurst or Linden Hills will take 35 months to sell, by any means. As I’ve said, the inventory is a 35-month supply, and many areas do much better than others, such as Medina, or Plymouth for example.

One of the difficulties is getting past one great myth right now: the myth that jumbo (loans over $417K) are an expensive, poor product. The truth is, in the past couple of months, jumbo products have come around and been lowered to historically great rates again, and there are now products in which you do not have to do 20% down, and also not have to pay mortgage insurance!

Example 1: A 30-year fixed jumbo can be had for 5.75%.
Example 2: A jumbo, 15%-down option with no mortgage insurance (MI) can be had for 6.1% (as of last Friday).

This is fantastic news for upper-bracket, but the word has to get out there. Right now, in upper-bracket sales, many excellent deals can be had and money (lending) is cheap!