February 2020
As we progressed through February, the actual and expected impacts of COVID-19 continued to grow, with concerns of economic impact reaching the stock market in the last week of the month. As the stock market declined, so did mortgage rates,offering a bad news-good news situation. While short term declines in the stock market can sting, borrowers who lock in today’s low rates will benefit significantly in the long term.
New Listings in the Twin Cities region increased 19.9 percent to 5,293. Pending Sales were up 23.9 percent to 4,267. Inventory levels fell 12.4 percent to 7,879 units.
Prices continued to gain traction. The Median Sales Price increased 6.3 percent to $282,000. Days on Market was down 2.9 percent to 67 days. Sellers were encouraged as Months Supply of Homes for Sale was down 11.1 percent to 1.6 months.
The recently released January ShowingTime Showing Index® saw a 20.2 percent year over-year increase in showing traffic nationwide. All regions of the country were up double digits from the year before, with the Midwest Region up 15.7 percent and the West Region up 34.1 percent. As showing activity is a leading indicator for future home sales, the 2020 housing market is off to a strong start, though it will be important to watch the spread of COVID-19 and its potential impacts to the overall economy in the coming months.
– SAINT PAUL AREA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

If you have any questions for us about the market or about real estate in general, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.