Report: Median Sale Prices for Homes in Lakeville up in 2012

Good news for homeowners in Lakeville: every key real estate indicator is on the upswing according to the November market update released this month by the Minneapolis-Area Association of Realtors.

Closed listings are up significantly year and month to date, and new listings are also trending up, filling the holes in inventory. But most importantly for homeowners, median sale prices are up, as is percent of original list price received, and days on the market until sale are down.

(Check out the report which we have available to the right.)

In November, there were 66 closed sales in Lakeville, bringing the 2012 totals to 858. That's a 20.3 percent increase over last year, according to the MAAR report. Notably, the median sale price for homes sold in Lakeville year to date jumped to $225,900 in November—a $5,900 increase from 2011. In addition, the average number of days listed on the market dropped from 137 in 2011 to 105 last month.

The numbers are similar across the Twin Cities region, the market recovery continues: In November, according to MAAR. Buyer activity outperformed year-ago levels, inventory dropped and, for a ninth consecutive month, home prices rose compared to 2011.

Twin Cities-wide, median sales price was up 16.9 percent to $173,000, partly a result of decreasing supply vs. continued demand: The number of homes for sale fell 29.4 percent to 13,860 active listings– the lowest such number since January 2003.

With prices on the way up, Cari Linn, MAAR’s president, expressed hope that more sellers will step into the market: “Price gains combined with more competition among buyers for less supply should be appealing to homeowners looking to make a move in the near future.”

The dropping number of “distressed sales” (foreclosures and short sales) is playing a big part in the rising market. Overall, new listings were up 0.2 percent. However, traditional new listings were up 27.8 percent while foreclosure and short sale new listings fell 21.1 percent and 45.7 percent, respectively. Thus, a pullback in bank-mediated listings has diluted a significant increase in traditional seller activity.

Similarly, closed sales were up 20 percent overall, but traditional sales were up 50.4 percent while foreclosures and short sales were down 14.9 and 2.7 percent, respectively. Homes sold in the traditional manner made up 64.2 percent of sales, foreclosures 24.6 percent and short sales 11.2 percent.

Months’ supply of inventory fell 40.6 percent to 3.4 months. Figures below 4.0 months of supply are typically hallmarks of sellers’ markets. Homes tended to sell in 104 days, on average, 25.9 percent quicker than last year. Sellers received 94.3 percent of their list price, on average, up from 90.9 percent during the same month last year.