– Market Experienced holiday drop-off… However, days on market before sale dropped 14.5 percent to 127 days. The local housing market experienced the traditional Turkey Day drop off for the week ending November 28 as Twin Citizens focused more on turkey and stuffing than purchase agreements and closing dates. Even taking into account the expected holiday drop, market activity in the last few weeks has slowed considerably from the breakneck pace we saw during the first 10 months of the year, likely due to the passing of the home buyer tax credit’s initial deadline. There were 5.9 percent fewer pending sales compared to the same week in 2008. That’s only the second week of year-over-year decrease in all of 2009 (the first was two weeks earlier). Now for the good news: Days on Market before Sale dropped 14.5 percent to 127, and the Percentage of Original List Price trended positive over last year to 94.3. These two metrics should shore up sellers who are weathering the current economic storm. For the full market report visit http://www.mplsrealtor.com/downloads/market/WMAR/wmar.pdf MAAR Weekly Market Activity Report is information from the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®

 – Sales up 54.4 percent over last year. The end of the first-time home buyers tax credit looms just 30 days beyond a Halloween horizon, and home sales remain strong in the lead-up to tricks and treats and the impending tax credit DEADline. For the week ending October 17, there were 954 signed purchase agreements, howling upward 54.4 percent from a year ago. Almost two-thirds of these pending sales were priced below $190,000—evidence that first-time buyers are carrying a heavy share of the activity. The strong sales we’ve seen over the last 15 months mean that our inventory of available homes has shrunk like the heads in a witches’ brew. The 23,896 homes on the market right now represents a 21.2 percent decrease from the decidedly more scary market of 2008, and it is the lowest mark at this point in the year since 2004. Expect home sales to begin dropping as tax credit qualifiers finish their mad rush to the closing table. We’ll all make it out of this market alive. For the full market report visit http://www.mplsrealtor.com/downloads/market/WMAR/wmar.pdf

News and Updates

Weekly Market Activity Report

The end of the first-time home buyers tax credit looms just 30 days beyond a Halloween horizon, and home sales remain strong in the lead-up to tricks and treats and the impending tax credit DEADline. For the week ending October 17, there were 954 signed purchase agreements, howling up 54.4 percent from a year ago. Almost two-thirds of these pending sales were priced below $190,000—evidence that first-time buyers are carrying a heavy share of the activity.

The strong sales we’ve seen over the last 15 months mean that our inventory of available homes has shrunk like the heads in a witches’ brew. The 23,896 homes on the market right now represents a 21.2 percent decrease from the decidedly more scary market of 2008, and it is the lowest mark at this point in the year since 2004.

Expect home sales to begin dropping as tax credit qualifiers finish their mad rush to the closing table, but unlike those camp counselors at Crystal Lake, we’ll all make it out of this market alive.

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Monthly Skinny – October 2009

The fall Twin Cities housing market has been full of wild things, mostly first-time home buyers stampeding to take advantage of the federal tax credit before it expires on November 30. The week ending October 10 was no different than others we’ve seen this fall. There were 947 signed purchase agreements for the week, a 37.6 percent increase over the same week last year.

At 1,543 new listings we’re down 4.4 percent from the same week a year ago. The trend continues: New listings haven’t been keeping up with the amount of sales, bringing total housing supply down dramatically in the Twin Cities. There are currently 24,901 homes on the market, 21.0 percent less than a year ago.

The rumpus is likely to subside as we near the November 30 tax credit deadline, silencing the sales activity of the market’s most active buyers.

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Weekly Market Activity Report

Fall is officially on in the Twin Cities, but it hasn’t slowed the housing market as much as usual. After the school year begins, we typically see a drop in buyer activity, but the 2009 fall market is remaining robust due in large part to the final weeks of the tax credit for first-time home buyers. There were 1,056 pending sales for the week ending September 26, up 41 percent from the same week last year.

As a direct result, inventory is dropping like a stone. There are approximately 24,500 homes for sale in the 13-county metro area, down more than 20 percent from a year ago.

The October 2009 Supply-Demand Ratio (SDR) comes in at 6.88 houses per buyer, down 22.5 percent from last year. The SDR has shown year-over-year drops of 30 percent or more for the past few months, but we’re projecting that the year-over-year decline for October will be smaller because pending sales are likely to be significantly lower if the federal tax credit for first-time buyers is not extended. If the credit goes *poof*, it will remove buyers from the market.

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Fall Waterfront Tour

Sunday, October 4, 2009

1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 WAYZATA BAY LAKESHORE ON LAKE MINNETONKA
980 Shady Lane East
Wayzata, MN
$3,995,000

Historic, long admired estate. Walk to Wayzata. 6 bedrooms plus a 2 bedroom carriage house. Charming and authentic Colonial. A rare opportunity. Approximately 120 feet of southwest facing lakeshore on Wayzata Bay.

WAYZATA BAY LAKESHORE ON LAKE MINNETONKA
908 Shady Lane East
Wayzata, MN
$2,695,000

Rare Shady Lane opportunity! Delightful, existing home with upgrades or a great building site. Dramatic views on Main Lower Lake from level lakeshore. Approximately 100 feet of southwest
facing lakeshore on Wayzata Bay.

GIDEONS BAY ACCESS ON LAKE MINNETONKA
45 Gideons Point Road
Tonka Bay, MN
$1,295,000

Prime Gideons Point Road “cottage style” home with deeded dock! Timeless and charming! Value Price!

GRAYS BAY LAKESHORE ON LAKE MINNETONKA
16922 Grays Bay Blvd
Minnetonka, MN
$799,000

Welcome to Grays Bay on the eastern edge of Lake Minnetonka. Lake living with close proximity to downtown Wayzata and Minneapolis. Simplify your lake life with an easy to maintain lot and newly updated home including granite countertops and generous open floor plan.

 Click the following URL to see the listings:
Matrix.northstarmls.com – View Ellen’s Listings

 To view the full Fall Waterfront Home tour please click the following link:

CBB Fall Waterfront Home Tour

http://www.mplsrealtor.com/downloads/market/WMAR/wmar.pdf

Once again, the six-day gap between where Labor Day fell in 2008

and where it fell this year is causing our year-over-year weekly

numbers to look weird. For the week ending September 12, you’ll see

a steep drop-off in new listings and pending sales, but there’s no such

dip last year.

New listings for the week ending September 12 were 1,624, a 12.9

percent drop from this period last year. Pending sales agreements also

dropped precipitously to 840 from 1,070 a week ago, 7.3 percent

higher than this week last year.

Next week’s figures should begin to provide more relevant year-overyear

comparisons. As the final days of the tax credit tick down (72 days

and shrinking), we’ll be watching market activity with heavy interest.

Stay tuned.

News and Updates Weekly Market Activity Report

The number of homes for sale in the Twin Cities metro area continues to decline relative to a year ago. As of Monday morning this week, there were 26,674 homes for sale in the region, down 20.9 percent from a year ago. In other words, we’ve lost 1 in 5 homes in our inventory in the last year. Sales are a different story. For the week ending June 20, there were 1,156 signed purchase agreements, up 32.1 percent from the same week in 2008. That’s the 12th week of the last 13 to feature a year-over-year increase in sales activity exceeding 20 percent. We must bear in mind, however, that sales are only up in certain categories and price ranges. Year to date, traditional home sales (excluding foreclosures and short sales) are still down 17.8 percent from last year. New construction sales are down 21.7 percent from last year. And sales of homes priced above $350,000 are down 26.8 percent from a year ago. The lion’s share of market activity is taking place in the lower price ranges this year. VIEW FULL REPORT | VIEW MORE RESEARCH REPORTS