Sellers introduced 7,021 new properties to the market, a
10.8 percent increase from the year prior. Inventory shrunk 11.8 percent to
25,636 units—the lowest May inventory count since 2005. The overall median
sales price declined 12.6% to $152,950 as value-minded consumers continued to
shop for bargains.

Prices and sales varied significantly by market segment.
Traditional (non-distressed) prices were up 1.4 percent to $200,700.
Foreclosure prices were down 16.4 percent to $104,450, and short sale prices
were down 5.6 percent to $135,000. The foreclosure rate fell to 31.9 percent in
May while the distressed sales rate—which includes foreclosures and short
sales—fell to 41.8 percent from a rate of 55.5 percent in January 2011.
Traditional pending sales were up 12.1 percent, while foreclosure pending sales
increased 67.0 percent and short sales were up 25.4 percent.

“Both the foreclosure rate and the distressed-sales
rate hit 7-month lows in May.” said Brad Fisher, President of the
Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®. “It is reassuring to have more
traditional product entering the market relative to other segments, as today’s
new listings are tomorrow’s closings.”

Distressed properties made up only 29.8 percent of all new
listings—the lowest level since April 2010. The fact that comparatively more
homes in financial distress are selling off the market than are entering the
market is a positive sign.

On average, it now takes 148 days for a home to sell,
marking three consecutive months of declines. Months supply of inventory, now
at 8.5 months, is down from nearly 12.0 months during the summer of 2008.

“Our housing market continues to show subtle yet sure
signs of healing, despite concerns over the national debt ceiling, slow job
growth, and food and energy prices eating into personal budgets,” said
Cari Linn, MAAR President-Elect.

For the first time in years, there is statistical proof of
change in the local housing market not associated with temporary governmental
incentives. This is welcome news for real estate professionals and consumers
alike. It has been made abundantly clear that housing is a definitive driver of
the economy at large.

All information is according to the Minneapolis Area
Association of REALTORS® (MAAR) based on data from the Regional Multiple
Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc. MAAR is the leading regional advocate and
provider of information services and research on the real estate industry for
brokers, real estate professionals and the public. MAAR serves the Twin Cities
13-county metro area and western Wisconsin.

We have been pleasantly surprised to see that many calls are continuing to come in and people still want to buy and sell their homes!

This activity is certainly a good indication that the housing market may very well be coming out of its slump here in Hutchinson, MN.

The interest rates continue to be favorable for buyers. That fact coupled with favorable prices on homes, makes this a great time for buyers to buy homes and sellers to sell their homes.

There were 520 pending sales for the week ending January 9, down 1.7 percent from the same week in 2009. That’s the seventh week of the last nine to see slightly fewer sales than the prior year, a time period that coincides closely with the initial expiration date of the first-time home buyer tax credit. However, we’re still 21.2 percent higher than the pace in 2008 for that period.

As you likely know, the credit’s been expanded to include a $6,500 incentive for buyers who have owned a home for five years of the last eight. Since we can safely assume that many of these buyers will need to sell their home first before buying a new one and receiving the credit, new listings numbers might shed light on how much effect the new credit is having. So far, it doesn’t appear to be much.

Over the last three months, the number of new listings has been 11.7 percent behind the same period one year prior. With many looking for continued “seedlings” of hope in the local housing market, this isn’t welcome news. As always, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the evolving market and reporting back what we see.