Weekly Twin Cities Real Estate Market Activity Report

Here's the latest from MAAR:

With consumer confidence in residential real estate in the doldrums, the Twin Cities housing market is seeing a new downward surge in home sales in recent weeks. For the week ending September 29, new purchase agreements (pending sales) fell from the same week last year by 33.1 percent. This is on the heels of a 26.3 percent drop last week vs. the same week in 2006.

The downward velocity in buyer activity appeared to have bottomed out in the first half of 2007, but August and September have shown further decreases as uncertainties in the mortgage industry have intensified. Keeping a close eye on real estate activity in the weeks ahead will give us an indication of where this road will lead. Thankfully, the decline in seller activity has also accelerated, with new listings down by 15.7 percent for the same time period.

This week's edition of the MAAR Weekly Market Activity Report features updated figures for our Housing Affordability Index (HAI) and the Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale. The HAI increased 4 points to 131 due to a slight drop in interest rates and home prices. Affordability is essential to the future health of our market, so this improvement is greeted with optimism. The Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale dropped slightly to 94.2 percent, and should continue to decline as the annual winter slowdown creates additional short-term downward pressure on home prices.

Want to see how localized submarkets are being affected by the changing market? Take a look at "The 100," our free monthly market update tool for over 100 Twin Cities communities, including the interior neighborhoods of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It has just been updated with new data through September.



Click here to access "The 100."