Weekly Market Activity Report

Here's the latest from MAAR:

Buyers and sellers in the Twin Cities housing market continue to exercise restraint. There were just over 2,800 new listings for the week ending May 5—down 5.2 percent from the same week in 2006. Newly signed purchase agreements (pending sales) were 13 percent behind for the same time period. The total inventory of homes on the market continues its gradual spring growth, rising above 33,000 single-family units—up 11.8 percent from this time last year.

This week's edition of the MAAR Weekly Market Activity Report features updated figures for Mortgage Rates, the Housing Affordability Index (HAI) and the Housing Supply Outlook (HSO). Interest rates in May continue to hold steady at 6.1 percent. Despite no movement in these historically low borrowing costs from last month, the HAI dipped one point to 139 due to a slight increase in median home prices. The HSO increased to 8.5 months, which means it will take the current inventory of homes on the market 8.5 months to be absorbed by buyer activity