Home sales in the Twin Cities, Minn., area fell by double digits in April, while the median home price grew modestly from a year ago, according to three metro Twin Cities Realtor associations.
Realtors reported 3,919 closed home sales last month, down 15.6 percent from a year ago when 4,645 sales were recorded. During the same period, the median home price grew 2.7 percent in the 13-county metro area, rising from $224,000 to $230,000.
Counties all over the metro area fared similarly, with Anoka County closed home sales decreasing 22.3 percent to 360, and Sherburne County closed sales declining 22.9 percent to 135, the North Metro Realtors Association reported.
New listings set an April record at 10,864 units, marking the ninth consecutive month of record new-listing activity, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. However, new listing growth was only 4 percent higher than last April after several consecutive months of 20 percent annual growth or more.
As a result of the increase in supply and the concurrent dip in demand, total listing inventory is at its highest mark on record. At the end of April there were more than 28,000 single-family units on the market, which was 45 percent higher than at the same point in 2005.
“There were several consecutive years in the early part of this decade where the market was tipped generously in favor of the seller, and now all indicators point toward a more balanced market representing a shift in the buyer’s favor as compared to the past five years,” said Todd Shipman, president of MAAR.
Statistics are provided by Saint Paul Area Association Realtors, Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, and North Metro Realtors Association.
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