Late June Housing Statistics

Post-April 30 Hangover

Here are some late June housing statistics (analysis costs extra). All info is for Edina Realty.

--Drop in showings since expiration of Buyer tax credits April 30: 40%
--Drop in "Pending" sales since expiration of Buyer tax credits: 40%.
--Percentage of Buyers who are first-time: 48%
--Percentage of homes sales under $250k: 80%

The narrative that accompanies the foregoing? Pretty self-evident.

P.S. Statistical averages are just that. For example, the neighborhoods close to Cedar Lake in Minneapolis (Fern Hill, Lake Forest, Sunset Gables) have been bucking the over all trend, with 8-10 pending sales in just the last two weeks.

Shelter From the (Stock Market) Storm?

Real Estate as a Haven

Conventional wisdom to date has been that a rocky stock market bodes poorly for upper bracket housing.

That's because, compared to other Buyers, upper bracket Buyers presumably have more exposure to stocks.

When stocks take a hit, so does their purchasing power.

Witnessing the latest stock market gyrations, I'm wondering whether at least some drained investors have decided that they want off the roller coaster.

Smart investors heed one maxim: 'buy low, sell high.'

Nothing is a better value in today's housing market than upper bracket homes (it doesn't hurt that mortgage rates are at record lows -- another side effect of stock and financial market turbulence).

P.S.: a half dozen or so sales do not a trend make, but in just the last two weeks, 7 homes on or near Cedar Lake, Lake Calhoun, and Lake of the Isles -- ranging in price from $900k to $3.3M -- have gone pending.

Christmas Eve Sales

Stocking Stuffer

Where: 48xx Portland Ave. South, in South Minneapolis

When: went pending today (Christmas Eve)

What: 5 BR/3 Bath stucco bungalow with over 2,200 square feet

How (much): asking price - $209,900

Who: listed by Roman Dziuba, Minnesota Realty

Every year, clients contemplating listing their homes around Holiday time ask about the wisdom of going ahead now vs. waiting till the market accelerates a bit (typically, early February).

My stock answer is that, in a big, metropolitan area like the Twin Cities (13 counties; total population 2.5 million), homes sell every day of the year -- including Christmas Eve!

I never actually bothered to check that statement; rather, I always simply assumed that it was true.

Well, it is.

I just ran a metro-wide MLS search for homes that went "Pending" today, and found 14 such transactions (including the home pictured above).

Happy Holidays!

Sold . . in 7 days!

Where: 2600 Inglewood, in St. Louis Park's Fern Hill neighborhood

What: 3 BR/2BA Georgian Colonial with just under 2,000 FSF

How Much (Asking Price): $374,900

When: May, '09

Who: Ross Kaplan, listing agent

Case-Shiller may show that the Twin Cities dropped 6.1% in March, but that didn't stop this handsome Colonial from selling quickly (technically, it's "Pending" or under contract; the actual closing date, which is when title transfers, is still a month away).

In the real estate equivalent of "build it and they will come," if you prep well, price it right, stage carefully, and market aggressively . . . it will still sell.

Latest "Pending" Home Sales

January Numbers: Down 7.7%

According to the National Association of Realtors ("NAR"), pending home sales fell 7.7% in January.

A home sale is considered "Pending" once the inspection contingency is removed, but before the Buyer's financing is finalized and the title is transferred at closing. In a typical deal locally, the interval between a "Pending" and a "Closed" sale is about one month.

Given the growing financial turmoil, it's hardly surprising that Buyers are balking at making such a major commitment -- for most consumers, it is THE biggest ticket purchase they likely make.

When you read that monthly car sales are down 50%, the impact on something much more expensive, like housing, isn't going to be pretty.