As the Twin Cities housing market inches closer to the active spring season, seller activity is not matching the white-hot records of 2006 but still remains ahead of previous years in this decade. New listings for the week ending February 10 were 7 percent behind the same time in 2006. New construction comprises 14 percent of this new inventory and will account for a lower market share in the coming months as existing homes are placed on the market more heavily in the peak spring and summer buying seasons. Buyer activity remains relatively quiet but anecdotal comments from brokers and agents indicate that buyers are out looking earlier this year. That said, pending sales for the week ending February 10 were 11 percent behind the same time in 2006 and 22 percent behind the same time in 2005. Temperatures in the Twin Cities were unreasonably frigid for that week—an average of 10 degrees below historical norms—and may have helped to depress buyer activity further than market conditions alone would have. Historically low interest rates are still combining with flat home prices to improve affordability and draw buyers back into the fold.
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