News About Sales and Inventory

Home

Business

Story

Print Email

Twin Cities home prices hold steady, sales inventory tight

Pioneer Press

Posted: 11/26/2013 12:01:00 AM CST | Updated: 9 days ago

Sale prices on Twin Cities' area homes held their ground in October, as the median price of $218,750 was up 2 percent from the same month of 2012.

The performance aligned with earlier predictions from the University of St. Thomas' Shenehon Center for Real Estate, which expected the annual rate of increase to moderate from the double-digit gains seen earlier this year.

The inventory of homes for sale remains tight, as October's 15,669 homes on the market in the metro area was 3 percent lower than the 16,154 a year ago, according to data released Tuesday as part of the Shenehon Center's monthly real estate index report.

The number of Twin Cities' homes for sale typically declines through the fall and then bottoms out in December.

The lack of inventory is tied to the historically high level of homeowners who are "underwater" on their mortgages, meaning they owe more than their house is worth. In the Twin Cities, 21.1 percent of homeowners are underwater, which is near the national figure of 21 percent, according to the Zillow Negative Equity Report for the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index reported Tuesday that Twin Cities' area home prices recorded a 10.1 percent increase in the 12 months ended in September. That was slightly less than the national index number, which was up 11.2 percent.

-- John Welbes