Although the Minneapolis-St. Paul housing market continued to wind down in November, most of the pullback is attributed to a reduction in foreclosures and short sales, the latest report from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors said this week.
Meanwhile, for the first time in seven months, new listings were lower year-over-year, decreasing 5.3% to 3,900 listings.
However, traditional listings increased 11.1% over the same time period.
Buyers closed on 3,760 homes, which is a 5.9% drop from last year, even though traditional sales were up 13.6%.
"We are seeing exactly what we want to be seeing," said Andy Fazendin, president of MAAR. "Lender-mediated activity once commanded heavy market share, and residential real estate is going to be stronger with fewer foreclosure and short sale properties in the system."
Traditional new listings increased 11.1%, but this was unable to offset foreclosure and short-sale listings, which dropped 36.2% and 42.1%, respectively.
Additionally, traditional closed sales climbed 13.6%, compared to foreclosure and short sale closings that dipped 34.7% and 57.6%, respectively.
The median price for a traditional home came in at $217,000, with foreclosures valued at $133,851 and short sales at $150,000.
"Some might claim that the recovery is stalling, but the reality is that job growth is gaining momentum and there are fewer distressed properties being listed and sold than at any point in the past five years," said Emily Green, MAAR president-elect. "We could stand to see this trend continue into 2014."
