September 2019
With the kids back in school and the weather cooling, the housing market begins its annual cool down as well. Nationally, buyer and seller activity remained strong, buoyed by low mortgage rates and a strong economy. The market fundamentals suggest no significant changes from recent trends, other than the seasonally tempered pace we see this time of year. As we move into the final three months of 2019, buyers will find fewer homes coming on the market, but also less competition for those homes.
New Listings in the Twin Cities region increased 2.5 percent to 7,041. Pending Sales were up 2.9 percent to 4,957. Inventory levels fell 5.6 percent to 12,478 units.
Prices continued to gain traction. The Median Sales Price increased 6.6 percent to $279,250. Days on Market was up 2.4 percent to 43 days. Sellers were encouraged as Months Supply of Homes for Sale was down 7.4 percent to 2.5 months.
In Washington there are discussions around a broad overhaul of the housing finance system, including the re-privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and reforms to federal agencies involved with financing substantial portions of the mortgages made every year. Many of these policy conversations and eventual changes will take months or years to be implemented and their impact is not yet clear. While Halloween decorations are beginning to adorn homes around the country, the real estate market this fall is looking far from scary.
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