Home sellers brought more new listings onto the Twin Cities market in May than in any month since 2010, but home sales still fell for the sixth month in a row, according to data from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.
New home sales were the month’s darling, rising by 11.1 percent compared to May 2017. But sales of previously owned homes fell 12.4 percent. Overall, 5,739 homes sold in the 13-county metro area during the month, down 11.3 percent from 6,472 a year earlier. Pending sales, an indicator for the housing market, fell 5.9 percent to 6,547.
New listings increased 2.9 percent to 9,164 homes, but the total inventory of homes on the market still dropped by 17.8 percent from 12,655 in May 2017 to 10,403 last month.
The bump in new listings is the first time in seven months new seller activity has increased year over year, according to MAAR
But the jump in new listings may not boost the overall inventory of Twin Cities homes for sale in the short run, said MAAR President Kath Hammerseng.
“I think demand may gobble those up,” she said in an interview. “We still have a decrease in units on the market.”
The inventory of homes for sale remained low in May at 2.1 months, down from 2.5 months in the previous year. Generally, a five-month to six-month supply is considered a balanced market.
May sales fell in most categories of homes. Single-family sales were down 12.3 percent compared with a year ago, while condominium sales dropped 3.5 percent and townhome sales declined 7.5 percent, according to MAAR.
Foreclosure sales were also well down, falling 38.1 percent compared with May 2017. Short sales declined 59.7 percent. Home values that are at “an all-time high” have brought distressed home sales down to the point where they make up about 5 percent of the market, Hammerseng said.
“With rising prices, even if people found themselves in trouble, they would be able to sell,” she said.
Sellers continued to get higher prices for their homes, receiving an average of 100.2 percent of their listing prices. The median home sales price in May increased to $271,000, up 8.4 percent from $250,000 in May 2017. Percent increases in the median sales price have run in the double digits, or slightly below, for months. The normal range is 5 to 7 percent.
The average number of days to closing a home sale during the month was 47, down from 52 days a year earlier.
On the homefront
New listings in Twin Cities hit a high in May
| May-18 | % chg from May 2017 | Year-to-date | % chg from 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median sales price | $271,000 | 8.4 | $260,000 | 8.8 |
| Closed sales | 5,739 | -11.3 | 19,949 | -7.1 |
| Pending sales | 6,547 | -5.9 | 24,322 | -7.3 |
| Days on market | 47 | -9.6 | 56 | -15.2 |
| % of original price received | 100.2 | 0.7 | 99.1 | 0.9 |
| Inventory of homes for sale | 10,403 | -17.8 | N/A | N/A |
Source: Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors
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