Hopkins’ Housing Market Sees More Improvement

The Hopkins housing market continued its upward climb, with increases in June for new listings and sales prices, according to data the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors released Thursday.

New listings were up 72.2 percent over the same month last year, climbing from 18 to 31. The median sales price grew 35.3 percent from $97,950 to $132,500. Sellers are also having better success getting prices close to their asking price—with sellers getting 95.4 percent of their asking price in June 2012 compared to 84.2 percent a year earlier.

Homes are remaining on the market longer, an average of 142 days compared to 110 days the same month a year ago.

Still, the 4.3 months supply of inventory is down 40.8 percent from the previous June’s 7.3 months. And 2012 year-to-date totals are all close to or better than 2011 numbers.

Across the region, Realtors said, the market is finally starting to tilt in favor of sellers, rather than buyers.

The bottom line: The median sales price in June 2012 rose 10.7 percent from the previous June to $179,500. That’s the second-largest annual gain since January 2004 and the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Excluding only June 2010, home prices in the Greater Twin Cities area are now at their highest level since October 2008.

That's a result of declining supply, as well as rising demand. In June 2012, buyers signed 4,917 purchase agreements, 16 percent higher than June 2011. Meanwhile, the number of homes for sale has dropped for 17 consecutive months, down 31.2 percent from last year to 17,103 active listings–the lowest inventory reading for any month since January 2004. Months’ supply of inventory, a standard industry measure of inventory, dropped 44.6 percent to 4.4 months, the lowest reading for any month since December 2005.

Realtors cited several other bits of good news from the close of the second quarter: Homes are selling in 113 days, on average, down 22 percent from last year. Sellers are getting an average of 95.1 percent of their list price, up 4 percent from last year. And cash buyers are making up 19.3 percent of all closed sales.

Perhaps most significantly, people putting their homes on the market no longer have to compete with quite such a huge flood of short sales and foreclosures, collectively known as "distressed sales." In June, distressed sales accounted for 30.6 percent of all new listings and 34.6 percent of all closed sales, the lowest shares since June 2008 and August 2008, respectively.

“It’s difficult to find a negative trend in the local housing market right now,” Cari Linn, MAAR's president, said in a news release. “After many years of decline, it’s a welcome change of pace.”

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