St. Paul, Minnesota – September 10, 2009 - The median sales price in the Twin Cities 13-county metro area housing market rose 2.3 percent in August to $175,000 as reported by the Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS® (SPAAR) today.
The median sales price rose $4,000 from last month when the median sales price was reported at $171,000. This is the highest median sales price reported for the 13 county metro since the 2008 year end report. However, we are still down 12.5 percent compared to August 2008 when the median sales price was $200,000.
"The rise in median sales price is a good sign that traditional home sales are making up a larger percentage of the market share and lender mediated properties are decreasing in the overall market share", said Rae Jean Malone, President of the Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS®.
Pending sales continue to outpace 2008 as buyers continue to take advantage of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit, and with very favorable interest rates. In August 09 there were 4,897 pending sales reported compared to 4,411 in August 08, an increase of 11 percent. Pending sales during the first eight months of this year have trended strongly, with 36,825 reported in 09 compared to 31,126 in 08, an increase of 18.3 percent.
Listing inventory continues its downward trend as it has been for the past 20 months. There were 11.7 percent fewer listings reported to date compared to last year, with 60,946 new listings reported at the end of August 09 compared to 69,037 during 08. During the month of August 09 there were 7,154 new listings reported, which is down 5 percent from last year.
Closed home sales decreased this month by 12.7 percent compared to July 09. There were 4,572 closed home sales in August compared to last months closed sales of 5,235. However, if you compare closed home sales to last year at this time, there were 14.5 percent more homes closed this August than the 3,992 closed home sales in August 08.
"The dip in closed sales can be attributed to a number of factors in the marketplace," said Rae Jean Malone, President of the Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS®. We have seen financing and appraisal issues cause delays in closings which can have a domino effect on other closings. We are also seeing a dip in closed sales due to seasonality."
Housing statistics include existing single family homes, condominiums and townhomes. Statistics are provided by the Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS® and are based on data supplied by the Regional Multiple Listing Service.
The Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS® represents 3,800 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry.