Twin Cities Metro Homes Sales Plunge 18 Percent as it Gets Better for Home Sellers

Recent home shoppers in April have found it even tougher to find a home as new listings are down over 10 percent from last year.

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This summer is setting up to be the slimmest pickings for buyers since the 1990's.   The number of homes for sale in the 13 county metro area is 9,079 and is down 21.9% since last year.  This compares to the high in July 2007 which saw 35,904 homes on the market at that time.

The real shortage is in the entry level type homes area the Twin Cities.  For homes under $300,000, the total number of homes available is 3,135; which is down 34.4% from last year.  The three main factors are behind the shortage are; a large swell of first-time homebuyers looking to stop paying high priced rents, baby boomers looking to downsize and new construction homes being to expensive.  The average new construction home sold for $399,500 in April.

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Fewer listings means higher prices.  That is especially true for the first ring suburbs, as many of those cities saw a sales price increase of over 10% since last year.  Leading the way, Mendota Heights with a median sales price over 34% higher than April last year, Roseville was next highest and saw a price jump of 23.6% over last year.

Homes have been moving the quickest in New Hope, with only 7 days as the median days on the market.  The biggest change we have seen was in Mendota Heights as well as New Hope, both cities have had the average home sell in more than half the time as it would have in April last year.

As for the cities that have seen the biggest drop in homes for sale year or year, New Hope again takes the cake with 59% fewer homes for sale than this time last year.  Crystal and Shoreview weren't far behind at 55.4% and 53.4% fewer homes for sale, respectively.

With school coming to a close and summer right around the corner, on top of the lowest levels of homes for sale in the past two decades.  It is the perfect time to sell your home, visit here for a free home value analysis.

Text ScottSold to 763-280-5777 to download my home search app!  The most up to date local app in the app store!

Email: Scott.Swennes@results.net

Phone: 763-331-4775

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Why is it so Hard to Find a Home?

Why is it so Hard to Find a Home to Purchase? - 5/8/2018


Many buyers in today's market are asking; "Why is it so hard for us to find a home in our price range?"  "Is it just us having bad luck?" "Should we just rent another year and wait?"

The answer is no, it's not just you, you're not alone!  And no, you shouldn't wait another year!  With home prices on the rise and projected to keep on the rise, as well as rising interest rates, waiting another year doesn't help you out.  You will likely have even less purchasing power with higher rates, and with housing prices projected to stay on the rise, you will have even fewer homes to choose from.

So why is it so hard to find a home in today's market?  For every 8  buyers looking for a home under $300,000, their is only 1 home for sale.  The housing supply is at historic lows and is down over 30% from two years ago.  


So you're asking....What are some things I can do to improve our odds, if we find ourselves in a multiple offer situation?

1. Don't ask for personal property.  Maybe you find yourself loving their dining room set, don't ask for it.  Drooling over that patio furniture set, skip it.  It will weaken your offer when up against others.

2. Make your offer as clean as possible.  Don't have a contingency in your offer, stating that you need to sell your home first, the seller is likely not wanting to wait for that.  Your offer should also be free of any seller paid closing costs when up against other offers, another reason some offers get thrown out by the seller.

3.  Consider waiving the inspection or shortening the time period.  I would never recommend waiving the inspection altogether, I would recommend shortening the inspection time period down to 4 or 5 days, from the standard 10 day window.  This shows the seller that you are serious and wanting to make moves quickly.

4. Write a personal letter to the seller.  Writing a personal letter to the seller will increase your chances on getting your offer accepted.  Explaining how much you love their home, and how you can picture your family starting in their home, could possibly convince the seller to pick your offer over the next one.

5. Consider a larger Earnest Money Deposit.   Your earnest money is strongly considered how likely you are to follow through with the purchase on the home.  A larger deposit of the traditional 1-2% is viewed stronger by the seller that you fully intend on purchasing their home.

6. Make sure the offer is complete.  First and foremost make sure you have an agent that understands what a full offer is.  Make sure all of the disclosures are sent with the original offer, this could include; Any Purchase Agreement addendum's, Sellers Disclosures, Lead-Based Paint Disclosures, Earnest Money receipt/proof.  In the competitive market of today, this could easily get your offer tossed out.

7. Offering Above List Price.  Lastly but most importantly, writing an offer that will net the seller the most amount of money will almost always get the job done.  If you are needing closing costs to be paid for by the seller, it is crucial that you write that into a higher purchase price so the seller still walks away with the same amount of money at closing time.

While these all sound like absolute no-brainer things to do, all the little things add up and will increase your chances in the end!

If you would like a fun and smooth home buying experience, while being informed from Day 1. Contact me and I will walk you through each step of the way on how to get started!

Text ScottSold to 763-280-5777 to download my home search app!  The most up to date local app in the app store!

Email: Scott.Swennes@results.net

Phone: 763-331-4775

Like my Facebook page here.

Click here for current Minnesota Homes For Sale.

Contact Me:

Cell: 763.331.4775

Email: Scott.Swennes@results.net