For the week ending June 18, pending sales in the Twin Cities reached a new high for 2011. The 961 signed purchase agreements were 49.0 percent higher than the same week last year. That's the greatest number of pending sales in 57 weeks or since the week ending May 15, 2010—and only four contracts shy of the 2008 peak. It's also the sixth consecutive week of double-digit year-over-year gains, which is still partially explained by the sharp drop in sales once the 2010 credit expired.
New listings were down 10.4 percent from last year to 1,534 new homes, and inventory levels are falling at an increasing rate for the fourth consecutive week, which is a good thing. Having reached or nearly reached our seasonal inventory peak of 24,017 active listings, it's likely that we'll finish 2011 with fewer homes for sale than we started with for only the third time in the past eight years.
Question: What do you get when you combine slowed listing activity with strong sales gains and falling inventory?
Answer: Continued stabilization leading to market recovery.
# posted by
Tara O'Brien @ 9:06 AM
