Minneapolis/St. Paul Area Weekly Housing Market Update
Mark Allen, CEO of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, had this to say in his weekly market activity report:
As the Twin Cities residential real estate market trundles along through its annual year-end slowdown, buyers are showing small signs of reentering the fray following months of quietude. Newly signed purchase agreements (pending sales) for the week ending December 9 were 13 percent behind the same week in 2005. While this is still a decline, it is the third consecutive week of relative yearto-year improvement in pending sales following several months of 20 percent drops or more. New listings on the market increased 6 percent for the same weekly comparison.
This week’s edition of the MAAR Weekly Market Activity Report features an updated Mortgage Rates figure for November of 6.1 percent. This is a slight decline from October and the lowest mark since October 2005. Falling interest rates and slowed price growth have prompted steadily improving affordability. Our market has bounced back near the affordability range that drove the boom market of the first half of this decade, which will motivate wise buyers to participate in a housing market that is in their favor.
Source: MAAR, 12/18/2006.
