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Archive for June 2009

Robust Home Sales In Twin Cities

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

As we near the halfway mark of 2009, the Twin Cities housing market continues to show a pattern of robust home sales and declining new listing activity. Setting aside fluctuations over the Memorial Day holiday, long-term market improvement can be seen when comparing 2009 to 2008.
There were 1,210 pending sales for the week ending June 13-a strong 33.8% increase from last year.

There were 1,970 new homes added to the market during the same week, a decrease of 2.6% from the same week in 2008. That 2.6% decline in new listings is a much smaller drop than we have seen in recent months when there were typically year-over-year drops of 10% or stronger.

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Posted in Homes, Housing Market | No Comments »

Buying a House in Shoreview: Looking for Assistance With Your Down Payment and Closing Costs?

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Minnesota Housing is a state agency committed to finance and advance affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate income Minnesotans to enhance quality of life and foster strong communities. If ranked among commercial banks, it would be the sixth largest bank, with total agency wide assets of $3.2 billion as of March 31, 2008.

Features: Interest-free loans to help with down payment and/or closing costs.

Repayment: The loan is in the form of a second mortgage to be repaid when owners sell or refinance the house, pay it off or the home is no longer owner-occupied.

Information: www.mnhousing.gov

Over the next two years, Minnesota Housing will invest more than $1.6 billion to further our four strategic priorities:

  • Finance new affordable housing opportunities
  • Preserve existing affordable housing
  • End long-term homelessness
  • Increase emerging market homeownership

As the state’s affordable housing financial institution, Minnesota Housing is a state agency that will invest more than $1.6 billion during the 2008-2009 biennium to address a continuum of affordable housing needs for an estimated 90,000 households across the state.

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Posted in Buy a House | No Comments »

For Shoreview First Time Home Buyers…Opportunity is Knocking!

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

If you have been considering purchasing your first home, but have been waiting on the sidelines for the right time, this may be the right time.  This year, qualified first time home buyers can receive a tax credit up to $8,000.  This is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Some facts about the Tax Credit:

  • Available to first time home buyers
  • Credit amount up to $8,000
  • Eligible for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009, and before December 1, 2009
  • Available on single family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums, new construction or pre-existing homes
  • The tax credit does not need to be repaid unless the home is sold within the first 3 years after the purchase
  • Home must be your primary residence
  • You have not owned a home during the last 3 years

Interest rates are still low and there are still plenty of wonderful homes available.  Now IS a great time to buy a home.

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Posted in First Time Home Buyers | No Comments »

Senate Pushes to Expand Home Buyer Tax Credit to $15,000!

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Lawmakers are pushing to revive legislation in the Senate that would almost double an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and expand the program to all borrowers.

This proposed legislation would extend the home buyer credit to multi-family properties that are used as the borrower’s primary residence.  It would also eliminate income caps of $75,000 and $150,000 on individuals and couples seeking to claim the credit.

“The housing market continues to be a drag on the economy”, said John Castellani, President of the Washington-based Business Roundtable.  “We believe that if we don’t stabilize this vital sector, we can’t turn the tide on the recession.”

The business Roundtable and the National Association of Realtors are both pushing to expand the tax credit and to lower mortgage rates to revive the U.S. housing market.

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Posted in Home Buyer Tax Credit | No Comments »

Traditional Sales Show Signs of Recovery in the Housing Market

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Traditional, non-lender-mediated home sales, (which are not short sales or foreclosures) increased in May. The number of traditional home sales is on the rise. Only 43.0% of the pending sales in May were lender-mediated, compared to 59.4% in January.

share-of-pending-sales

Because of the decrease in lender-mediated sales, the average median price went up $12,000 from last month to $165,000 in May. The median price of traditional home sales in May was $214,000, down 4.3% from a year ago. While lender-mediated home sales were down 20.8% from a year ago.

Another positive sign for the housing market was the increase in the number of signed purchase agreements in May. This was an increase of 17.3% from this time last year, marking the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year increases.

The number of properties for sale at the end of May was down 19.0% from this time last year. That represents a 7.6 months supply available, down 26.9% from this time last year. We are heading back to a more balanced market that has a 5 to 6 month supply of homes for sale.

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Posted in Housing Market | No Comments »

June Housing Supply Outlook

Friday, June 12th, 2009

The Minneapolis Association of Realtors just published the June Housing Supply Outlook.  Three key points stand out:

  • The number of townhomes sold in the Twin Cities metro increased by 0.4% over last year. The majority of these sales was in the under $120,000 range and most were foreclosures and short sales.
  • The supply of homes on the market is down considerably. Currently there is a 7.6 month supply of homes, down from 10.4 months compared to the same time period a year ago.
  • Encouragingly, sales are up in the lower priced homes. However, home sales in the higher price ranges are still down.

    Click here for the full Housing Supply Outlook.

    housing-market-recap

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    Posted in Housing Market | No Comments »

    Market Recap

    • Avg. Sales Price: 379,000

    • Avg. Days on Market: 69

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