Zeb Haney Minneapolis Realtor Blog » Minneapolis Edina Housing Market Update

Minneapolis housing market activity for week 05/26/2009

Zeb Haney — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:05:13 +0000

As of May 26th, the Minneapolis metro housing market (12-county) inventory is down (to 23,855) from this point last year (27,358), pending sales up are (12,750) up from this point last year (10,296), with the Minneapolis housing market overall average of days on market until a sale down from this point last year, from 154, to 150. Also, the percent of list price received at sale is down 1.7% from this point last year, from 31.7%, to 90.0%.

In general, these are good signs for the Minneapolis housing market. However, with the very quick, recent spike in interest rates, we could be slowing our momentum in a very fragile housing recovery. More to be revealed…

Mortgage Interest Rates Spiking Fast

Zeb Haney — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:45:31 +0000

In the past week, mortgage rates on a standard 30-year fixed loan have quickly jumped at least a 1/2 (.5%) point, and in some cases 3/4 (.75%) of a point. This time last week, most lenders were @ 4.50% on a standard 30-year fixed rate. As of closing yesterday, 2 very good lenders I know were @ 5.0% and 5.25%. Read this CNBC article, which outlines the reason for the very fast spike in interest rates.

Why?

Answer: Due to the bonds market sell-off. This takes the yield curve up. Yesterday, we saw the yield come up 12 basis points alone! Rarely have we seen fluctuations like we have in the past day, or week.

My suggestion: if you have been thinking of buying, consult with your lender as to whether they think you’ll want to speed things up (a 5.0% interest rate is still fantastic, historically speaking), or if they think this increase in rates is short-term and will come back down.

Remember, nobody has a crystal ball, and prognostications are often proven wrong, but a good professional will still be your best source.

Southwest Minneapolis and Edina Housing Market Recap W.E. 05/17/2009

Zeb Haney — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:14:02 +0000

While looking through the sales stats for the Southwest Minneapolis and Edina housing market, I find a few bits of encouraging news. Some of this news is for the Minneapolis/St. Paul housing market in general, but I will break it down.

Edina: New listings are down. Inventory is down, mortgage rates are again down. Also, housing prices (recent sales only) are down in April ’09, compared with April ’08. At first glance, one might think that the prices in Edina are falling. In most cases, this is not true. True, higher-priced homes in Edina have taken a hit (sluggish upper-bracket sales), but the average home in decent shape still sells for a premium, and usually fairly quickly. Also, there has been a rush to purchase the lower-end homes in Edina, primarily due to the very low interest rates, and the government-backed first-time home buyer incentives. This has skewed the averages across the entire metro market. Average days on market before a sale on a home in Edina is currently about 144.

Southwest Minneapolis: Pretty much the same situation as Edina, with the average days on market time before a sale being about 113. This is pretty dang good, considering the entire Minneapolis metro housing market has an average of 7.5 (about 245 days) months of supply. At the higher-end of the market ($1 Million-plus) the current supply/inventory is about 28 months.

What these stats do show, is that Southwest Minneapolis and Edina are still the 2 best places to buy a home in the entire Minneapolis/St. Paul housing market.