We can comfortably consider the first quarter to have been a good start for residential real estate in 2017.

There was certainly plenty to worry over when the year began. Aside from new national leadership in Washington, DC, and the policy shifts that can occur during such transitions, there was also the matter of continuous low housing supply, steadily rising mortgage rates and ever-increasing home prices. Nevertheless, sales have held their own in year-over-year comparisons and should improve during the busiest months of the real estate sales cycle.

New Listings in the Twin Cities region increased 1.3 percent to 8,032. Pending Sales were down 3.0 percent to 5,631. Inventory levels fell 19.9 percent to 10,213 units.

Prices continued to gain traction. The Median Sales Price increased 7.0 percent to $237,500. Days on Market was down 14.1 percent to 73 days. Sellers were encouraged as Months Supply of Homes for Sale was down 23.1 percent to 2.0 months.

The U.S. economy has improved for several quarters in a row, which has helped wage growth and retail consumption increase in year-over-year comparisons. Couple that with an unemployment rate that has been holding steady or dropping both nationally and in many localities, and consumer confidence is on the rise. As the economy improves, home sales tend to go up. It isn’t much more complex than that right now. Rising mortgage rates could slow growth eventually, but rate increases are little more than a byproduct of the strong economy and high demand.

Source: Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors®, Monthly Indicators Report. All data comes from NorthstarMLS. http://maar.stats.10kresearch.com/reports

• home buying,
• home selling,
• monthly report,
• real estate,
• sellers market,
• Stats,
• Twin Cities