Saturday January 5, 2013
Just Listed brings you the latest news and information from the Twin Cities-area commercial and residential real estate market and beyond from veteran reporters Jim Buchta and Janet Moore.
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Twin Cities builders: 2012 was a turnaround year
Posted by: Jim Buchta Updated: January 3, 2013 - 9:45 AM
An apartment boom helped make 2012 the best year since the downturn began for Twin Cities builders and contractors with a nearly 100 percent increase in the number of new units planned for the metro. That's according to a year-end report from the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, which said that 4,058 single-family homes and 4,977 multifamily units were permitted during the year compared 2,818 houses and 1,708 multi-family units during 2011.
The bulk of those units are being built in Minneapolis where a rental boom is underway, but home builders are also seeing a dramatic resurgence in demand for new houses, especially in inner-ring suburbs where supplies of existing houses have fallen to the lowest level in more than a decade.
While 2012 was clearly a turn-around year for the industry, construction activity is still well below normal levels. We'll have a complete story in the Friday paper; you can see the full release here.
Today's real estate reads
Posted by: Jim Buchta Updated: January 2, 2013 - 12:02 PM
Here's what we're reading today:
- Shadow inventory is now at "manageable" levels, according to CoreLogic, which tracks the number of properties with mortgages that are seriously delinquent, in foreclosure or held by mortgage servicers. Most of these are distressed properties that are yet-to-hit the market, but likely to put a drag on prices of nearby properties. The October report says that there's now a 7-month supply of such properties, down more than 12 percent from last year. Here's a link to the full report.
- Home builders confidence during December rose for the 8th consecutive month, marking a two-point gain and the highest level since April 2006, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Details here.
- Has the budget deal had an impact today on mortgage rates? Dan Green's mortgage blog says "yes." Find out why.
Just Listed: The former "Mary Tyler Moore house"
Posted by: Jim Buchta Updated: December 20, 2012 - 6:20 PM
It's been a very, very long time since a big house with a sweeping front porch at 2104 Kenwood Parkway in south Minneapolis was prominently featured in the opening credits of the 1970s sitcom, the Mary Tyler Moore show, but some of you out there might remember.
That house is now on the market for $2.895 million and is listed with the Barry Berg Group/Coldwell Banker Burnet. The lengthy listing makes no mention of the home's fame (there was a time when the house was simply known as the "Mary Tyler Moore house," and the interior today bears little resemblance to the stage set where MTM's friend, Rhoda, had an apartment on the turreted third floor. That turret is still there in all its Victorian glory, but the 1900's-era house has been significantly renovated and is now a single-family house with 9,500 square-feet, including seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
The owners of the property are Gregory Macfarlane and Eva Wai Oi Mui, according to Hennepin County tax records. They paid $2.8 million for the house in 2007.
Here's a link to the agent's photo tour of the house.
The good news behind the latest decline in housing starts
Posted by: Jim Buchta Updated: December 19, 2012 - 10:31 AM
Because of a decline in construction in single-family homes, housing starts across the country posted a disappointing 3 percent from October to November (here's a link the full report), with big declines coming from the northeast because of construction delays caused by Hurricane Sandy.
Starts were still ahead of last year and were the best in several years, but the promising measure is that applications for building permits - an indication of future construction - rose to highest level since the summer of 2008.
The report doesn't include data at the metro-area level, but we reported earlier this month (click here for the story) that robust construction of single-family houses and rental apartments helped create double-digit increases in permit applications in the Twin Cities metro. That means that while builders and developers are still digging their way out of one of a historic slump, 2012 is on track to be the turnaround year that the industry has been eagerly awaiting.
November home sales up 20% in the Twin Cities; prices up, too
Posted by: Jim Buchta Updated: December 12, 2012 - 11:01 AMHome sales in the Twin Cities metro during November posted a whopping 20 percent increase over last year - one of the biggest year-over-year gains in several months.
Prices rose significantly, too.
The median price of all closings was up more than 15 percent in large part because the mix of what's selling has changed. There's been a big decline in heavily discounted foreclosure sales and an increase in traditional sales, which has skewed the median upwards.
When you consider various statistical factors, including seasonality and the mix of what's selling, prices were up a more modest, but robust, 9 percent.
Here's alink to the full report, and we'll have a more complete story in the Thursday paper.
CoreLogic: Twin Cities house prices up 6.3% during October
Posted by: Jim Buchta Updated: December 4, 2012 - 10:42 AM
A report from CoreLogic today shows serious signs of strength in the national and local housing markets. It said that house prices across the country rose 6.3 percent during October, the biggest year-over-year increase in six years. House prices in the Twin Cities posted the exact same increase. From September to October prices fell 0.2 percent, mirroring a typical seasonal shift in the market.
When you exclude distressed sales (short sales and foreclosures) from the mix, prices in the Twin Cities were up 7.3 percent compared with last year; up 0.5 percent from September.
Click on this link to a more complete report.
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recent posts
- Twin Cities builders: 2012 was a turnaround year
- Today's real estate reads
- Stadium group to name construction firm Feb. 1
- The map proves it
- Ford Center achieves LEED gold
- Studies show real estate market touch-and-go
- 'Mary Tyler Moore house' on the market for $2.895 million
- The good news behind the latest decline in housing starts
- Lori Line: Dec.12 foreclosure auction didn't happen
- CRE leaders mildly pessimistic about future
- Foreclosure activity easing slightly in Minnesota; repossessions increase
- November home sales up 20% in the Twin Cities; prices up, too
- Meet the man behind new Minnetonka REIT
- IDS tower taken off the market
- Major banks halt evictions and foreclosure sales for the holidays
- Winland sells HQ building
- Just Listed blog: Twin Cities house prices up 6.3% during October
- REIT buys North Minneapolis nursing facility
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