A bit of good news this week on the home affordability front as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped below 3 percent to 2.97%, according to Freddie Mac. The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate, while still higher than a few months ago, remains more than one third of a percent less than the same time last year. The slight pullback in rates may be short lived, however, as Nadia Evangelou, senior economist for the National Association of REALTORS®, still expects rates to rise in the coming months.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending April 24:

• New Listings increased 14.5% to 1,687
• Pending Sales increased 38.4% to 1,509
• Inventory decreased 47.5% to 5,337

For the month of March:

• Median Sales Price increased 10.4% to $328,000
• Days on Market decreased 36.1% to 39
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.7% to 101.9%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 47.4% to 1.0

All comparisons are to 2020

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From MAAR Market Data News.

A new analysis by housing giant Freddie Mac suggests that the U.S. housing market needs 3.8 million more single-family homes nationwide to meet demand. Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, noted “we should have almost four million more housing units if we had kept up with demand the last few years.” While new construction activity has increased in recent years, it has never fully recovered to its previous peak more than fifteen years ago.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending April 17:

• New Listings increased 19.0% to 1,582
• Pending Sales increased 45.3% to 1,481
• Inventory decreased 47.6% to 5,276

For the month of March:

• Median Sales Price increased 10.4% to $328,000
• Days on Market decreased 36.1% to 39
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.7% to 101.9%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 55.0% to 0.9

All comparisons are to 2020

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From MAAR Market Data News.

Home prices are not the only rising cost for prospective homebuyers. ATTOM Data Solutions’ latest property tax analysis of nearly 87 million single-family homes in the U.S. found the average property tax bill rose 4.4 percent from 2019 to 2020, to an average of $3,719 for a single-family home. Nationwide, the average effective tax rate was 1.1% of the property’s value in 2020, down slightly from 1.14% in 2019.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending April 10:

• New Listings increased 27.1% to 1,658
• Pending Sales increased 20.8% to 1,249
• Inventory decreased 49.3% to 5,086

For the month of March:

• Median Sales Price increased 10.4% to $328,000
• Days on Market decreased 36.1% to 39
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.7% to 101.9%
• Months Supply of Homes For Sale decreased 52.6% to 0.9

All comparisons are to 2020

Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From MAAR Market Data News.