Twin Cities Real Estate Rebound

MINNEAPOLIS - It’s another month of mixed numbers for the struggling housing market.

The National Association of Realtors says, after a bit of a surge in July, August home sales stalled in the Midwest with the median sale price falling 10 percent to $149,900.

Experts cite layoffs in manufacturing and other industries as the culprit. It’s certainly not good news for the economy, but that doesn’t necessarily paint the whole picture.

According to the same report from the National Association of REALTORS, the Twin Cities is seeing some positive signs. From March through August of this year, the median sale price has jumped from $154,125 to $175,000.

The group credits buyer demand and low mortgage rates, along with the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit for the growth. Signed purchase agreements are up 11 percent in the 13-county metro.

This up-tick in home prices and the tax credit that expires in November may motivate more buyers to jump into the market in the coming weeks. That will play into the sellers’ hands as they’re now getting just over 94 percent of their asking price and their homes aren’t sitting on the market as long as they had been.

The only group that continues to face bad news: Sellers who are trying to get rid of higher-end homes. They’re being hurt by the abundant number of homes under $150,000 in the market and the fact that lenders and the federal government have significantly tightened-up lending rules to try and stave-off another industry collapse.

Some in the real estate industry hope Congress extends the tax credit to all home buyers to help bolster the housing market. There hasn’t been too much talk about that on Capitol Hill -- at least not yet.