Higher house prices beckoned sellers last month in the Twin Cities metro, but buyers weren't as plentiful. During September there was a 7.1-percent decline in home sales compared with last year, according to new data from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. Despite softening demand, the median price of those closings increased 5 percent to $205,000 as foreclosure sales were replaced by more expensive traditional deals.
The disparity between falling sales and rising prices is a reflection of a recent shift in the market: With foreclosure rates nearing pre-crisis levels, the investors who one dominated the market are quickly fleeing. While the decline in sales is frustrating to many would-be sellers, this change in fundamentals is being viewed as a positive sign. We'll tell you more about that shift in a complete story in the Tuesday paper.
