Earlier this month I wrote a story that home sales in the Twin Cities metro increased 8.9 percent, this morning we have a report on the state's housing market during August showing almost-as-strong sales and a similar increase in prices.
The Minnesota Asssociation of Realtors (MAR) said that closed sales statewide during August were up 6.5 percent compared with last year, and with fewer heavily discounted foreclosure sales - and fewer options for buyers - the median price of all closings rose 14.3 percent.
MAR tracks sales in 13 economic development regions thoughout the state, and there were wild variations in sales and prices in each of those regions. In the Arrowhead region, for example, there were 379 sales, a 52-percent increase over last year. By contrast, the Southwest region reported a 24-percent decline in sales.
Such variaions in this report aren't unusual because the sample size in each region can be small and subject to statistical swings.
This pdf includes detailed reports on each of those 13 regions. And if you're really interested in how things are going statewide, be sure to check out the year-to-date profile of each of those regions. The YTD numbers include a much larger sample size and thus fewer statistical variations.
And if you're interested in what's happening across the U.S., the National Association of Realtors released its August report showing a 1.7-percent increase in sales (seasonally adjusted) - the highest level in 6.5 years. Here's a link to that story.
