Twin Cities Realtors Say Housing Market May Be Cooling
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Twin Cities realtors say the latest monthly indicators point to a market cool down.
The median price for a home in July was $268,000. That's up more than six percent from last July.
However, the inventory for homes over the past year has dropped more than 13 percent.
"We've updated the furnace and hot water heater, updated in the last two years," said Amy Hulett of White Bear Lake.
In a Twin Cities housing market where inventory is low, Hulett is now a seller in a seller's market.
"We were really going to sell last year but we played too much. Didn't paint and get it ready to sell. So we decided this would be the year to do that," said Hulett.
And if things go well, she'll make considerably more than she would have last summer. The average sales price in the Twin Cities is now up about $20,000 compared to this time last year.
"It's really been in the seller's court. Up to right now it's been that way," said Mike Bernier.
Bernier is the president of Realty Group. Fewer homes on the market have pushed up prices. Interest rates have also increased.
Bernier said they are all reasons sales are down across the state.
"It's starting to get higher for buyers to come up with the monthly payment for that house," said Bernier.
Which is why Bernier believes a change is coming. After six plus years of rising home prices and steady growth, Bernier thinks it's inevitable that the market will swing back.
"We're not used to having a housing market growing that long so it is at that threshold where it could turn. Eventually it's going to have to make a change and a correction because you can't keep having prices go up forever," said Bernier.
Bernier said one sign that things could be turning is that sales prices have peaked out for homes priced at $319,000 and higher. And they're even coming down slightly.
Bernier said that's usually a good indicator that prices will start to go down in other parts of the housing market as well.
