Homes Sales Remain in Low Gear
Midyear statistics have been release and confirm the rising of home foreclosures. The Twin Cities housing market is in clear downturn. Homes sales stay put in low gear, but some think that the bottom has been reached and that an improvement will start in spring 2008.
During the first six month of the year, the number of closed sales was down 16 percent while inventory continued to increase. The median sale price of single-family houses, condominiums and town homes fell 2.17 percent, according to data released by several Realtor groups.
Many sellers are holding onto hope that they will sell their homes for what their neighbors obtain two years ago. Today’s market is not the same as two years ago - We are still in the middle of a housing recession and it won’t snap back for a while. Unless these properties are in a nice area, set with the right price, and well-kept it will be hard to find buyers. Meantime sellers will pull their properties off the market or hold out for their price if they cannot get what they want.
However, there are some pockets of strength, where buyers still are competing for houses and sales are being made in just few days. Places such as South Minneapolis where we have sold few properties like this one at 3653 25th Ave. that only were on the market for a week and they were sold for about 95 percent of the full price. This has become the exception rather than the rule and price reductions are going to be necessary to burn the excess inventory that has been piling up for more than a year.
Still as sellers reduce prices; it is likely that the median sale price could fall during the next 12 months by as much as 7 to 10 percent before returning to positive ground next year.
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